A Pact with a Fox
by SG1EmberWolf
Summary: Ahri has been alone for a very long time now. Haunted by the memories of her past, she does not trust easily. The time has come for summoners to pick their new champions. What happens when Ahri is paired with the young yet strong summoner named Eylic? Will he be able to help her overcome her fears? Rated M for language and sexual themes.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – Two Days

It was a normal Sunday afternoon no different from any other ordinary day. The sun shone brightly in the sky. Its light reflected off the pale skin of the beautiful fox woman walking through the street. A man followed close behind her. He couldn't have been more than 20 years old, and his eyes were full of lust.

_Come on. You have done this many times before. You shouldn't feel any different about it now, _the fox woman though to herself. Her nine white tails began to droop behind her. Finally, the two stopped at the wooden door to the local inn. "Well this is where I am staying. Don't be shy and come on in," the woman commanded seductively to the charmed young man. "Oh right away," he stammered excitedly. She led him by the hand and was careful to make sure no one saw them. The inn keeper had left not long ago and would not be back for some time she knew.

They came to her room door. She opened it and walked inside with the young man quickly following behind. She closed the door and quickly locked it while he was not paying attention. They made their way to the bed room. "Lie down and make yourself comfortable," she said in a very seductive-sweet voice as she began to undress herself. The young man began to undress himself as well before lying down on the bed. Before him was a magnificent view of a naked woman. Her skin was pale and perfect, and the light coming through the window reflected off her large, magnificent breasts. He was at a loss for words as she got onto the bed and began to crawl towards him. She kissed him softly on the mouth. He tried to kiss back but was too stunned to do so. She then lowered herself onto his hard member and began to move up and down. The feeling he felt now was unlike anything he had ever experience before. He reached up for her heaving breasts and began to fondle them as she moved faster and faster on him.

After a small bit of time, he felt like he couldn't take any more. He was near ready to climax. The woman sensing this pinned him down. The look on his face suddenly changed from one of pleasure to one of pain and horror. Her fox-like claws began to dig into his arms, and a strange blue aura began to drift out of his chest and into hers. He felt himself dying and began to scream. She dug her claws in harder as the young man panicked and tried to kick her off of him. After a few more seconds of struggling, his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and the blue aura faded.

The woman dismounted her prey and went into the bathroom to shower. She dried herself off and changed. When she looked in the mirror, she was shocked to see the young man's screaming face looking back at her.

"Ahhhgh." Ahri suddenly woke up from her nightmare and sat up in her bed inside her room at the Institute of War. _I hate having these nightmares. It just reminds me of all the terrible things I've done. _The dream she had had been of her last kill before joining the Institute of War. She currently resided there because only bound champions lived with their summoners. No one had been bound to her for a long time. Many summoners either hated her, feared her, or looked at her with lust. Her last summoner was a kind woman, but they did not always get along, and the summoner decided not to renew their pact after the six month period.

Champions and summoners were bound together every six months to fight in the League of Legends for their factions' interests. After the six month period, a summoner can choose to renew the pact for another six months, start a new pact, or return home. Ahri had not been bound for the last 3 ceremonies. The only fighting she got was in practice matches. She didn't miss the action of constant battle much, but she wanted a friend. _I've been so alone for so long now. I wonder if anyone will truly want me for me. _These thoughts had often troubled her mind the last few months. Sure she had some friends at the institute. There were many unbound champions that would talk to her, but it just wasn't the same. _The next ceremony is in two days. I'm sure I'll find someone this time, _she thought to herself as she put her head back down on the pillow and cried. _Who would ever want me?_

* * *

"Urg. Alright I'm up," Eylic shouted as he launched a small fire ball from his hand that incinerated the nearby alarm clock and reduced it to ash and a few pieces of metal. His sleep the last six months could be described as mediocre at best. He had been bound to Malzahar his last binding ceremony. While a summoner can choose to refuse a binding and ask for a different champion, he did not see anything wrong at the time. He quickly learned that that was a mistake. If Malzahar was not up all night doing his ritualistic chants, his snoring could keep all of Runeterra awake. Eylic had been living on very little sleep and high amounts of caffeine these last few months in particular.

He got out of bed, showered, and got dressed. _Two more days,_ he thought to himself as he headed to the kitchen. Malzahar was at the kitchen table. Vel'koz was floating next to him. No doubt they were talking about some super-secret void-related stuff. Eylic did have to admit that talking to Vel'koz was always very interesting even though he knew that the floating eyeball would like nothing better than to disintegrate him. As long as he was bound to the League rules, Vel'koz was a very amusing and knowledgeable person to talk to.

Eylic made his morning coffee and set it down on the table. He turned around to wash out the pot. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of purple light. Eylic turned around to see that his coffee had vanished, and a small scorch mark remained on the table. "Hmmm. Caffeine, epigynous berries, an abundant amount of sugar, and a large amount of high fat content cream. Should you not be more concerned for your health Eylic," Vel'koz questioned the young and clearly grumpy summoner. "Vel'koz, was disintegrating my morning coffee absolutely nessesary," Eylic angerly questioned the floating purple eye. Vel'koz laughed and replied, "Clearly I have offended you. I will take my leave now. Thank you for your contribution to my collection of knowledge." With that, he left the house.

Eylic turned back towards the counter to begin making a new cup of coffee. Malzahar got up from the table and walked towards a cabinet containing a box of powdered doughnuts. Who knew a prophet of the void could like his sweets so much. As he sat back down, he spoke to Eylic for the first time that morning. "The binding ceremony is in two days. I imagine that you will not be renewing our pact. I know we have had our differences, but I would like you to know that I did find you to be a very worthy summoner. When the void comes, I will make sure that it devours you last." "Thanks Malzahar… That's nice to hear," was all Eylic could say to reply. "No I will not be renewing our pact, but I will say that you are a very powerful and intelligent champion. I'm just looking forward to getting a good night's sleep. I don't remember the last time I got a full eight hours, and I'm really losing the taste for coffee." Malzahar finished the doughnut he was holding. He placed the box back the cabinet, bowed, and then returned to his room. "AND YOU BETTER PAINT OVER ALL THOSE RUNE SCRIBLINGS ON THE WALLS IN THERE," Eylic yelled after him. The only reply he heard was a slight echo-y chuckle from the void prophet. _Sigh. Two more days_, he thought to himself again.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: It is good to see that anyone at all is reading this. This is my first fan fiction, but I like to think that I am full of ideas. I am currently a video game design student. The work load for it is tough. I had this idea kicking around in my head for some time so I decided that I would write it out. I hope to have at least one chapter done every few days or so. They may not be very long in length as I tend to only dedicate one session at a time to a chapter. Now that our main cast has been introduced as well as one of our supporting characters, the story will be moving to first person perspective. If you like the story, be sure to follow and offer any criticism you can think of. Enjoy chapter 2.

Chapter 2 – Last Battle

Eylic

_**CRASH! **_"Huh?" I was startled awake by the sound of a loud crash. I looked around to see a smashed coffee cup on the ground. I was still sitting at the kitchen table. _Huh, I must have nodded off._ I glanced at the clock in the kitchen. "Oh fuck! I'm going to be late for my last match!" The clock read 9:12. My match was at 9:30. I bolted up from my seat at the table. The split cup of coffee would have to wait until later. I hurried to Malzahar's room and opened the door. He wasn't there. "Figures as much," I mumbled to myself. I went to my room and quickly changed into my summoner's robes.

I was still trying to get my head through the damn hole while I sprinted out the door to the nearest teleporter beacon that would take me to the Institute of War. I got to the beacon and paid my fee to the small yordle operating it. "Big match today summoner," he asked with a smile on his face. "Heh, you could say that," I replied. Today's match was over some land to the north of the institute that both Demacia and Noxus had laid claim to. They both stated that it was for farming, but some rumors had been going around that a powerful, magical artifact had been found there, and both sides wanted it. While both factions agreed to adhere to the rules put forth by the League of Legends, neither side would let such an advantage fall to its enemy.

The details were really none of my concern right now especially if I didn't make it to the match on time. I placed my hand on the beacon and pictured the beacon at the institute in my head. Things began to fade around me as I was surrounded by blue light. My surroundings suddenly changed to a large chamber decorated with several banners bearing the mark of the league. After fully regaining control of my body, I sprinted towards the summoning chamber. When I got near the door, I could hear one of the head summoner's voices echoing through the hall. "..and since your final team member has not shown up within the time allotted, Demacia will have to fight at a disadvantage. Malzahar, you are free to go about your business." "WAIT," I cried out as I burst through the door. "I'm … *pant* … here," I barely managed to stammer out as I tried to catch my breath. The head summoner looked at me before saying, "Very well. Please take your seat and we will begin."

I took my seat next to my fellow summoners. The summoners representing Noxus sat opposite of us. I looked around the room. _Hmm. Jarvan, Garen, Luxanna, and Sona. They have Swain, Katarina, Darius, Draven, and Sion. Both sides seem to be going all out for this fight. I wonder why I was requested for this battle. _Swain caught me eyeing his team and gave me a glare that sent shivers down my spine. The champions took their places on the blue and red platforms in the alcove at the end of the room. I placed a small crystal onto the stone pedestal in front of me. The champions began to disappear as the same teleportation light from before surrounded them. The crystal in front of me began to hover above the pedestal and glowed purple. A large holographic orb enveloped the crystal. I placed my hands on either side of the orb and looked into it. I could see that my champion had arrived onto the field of Summoner's Rift. A slight tingling sensation entered my head as my mind began to connect to Malzahar's.

Horrific visions flashed in my mind. I saw secrets of the void. I saw what waited inside of it: the monsters scratching at the barrier between worlds trying to get out. Even after six months, these flashes still had a way of startling me whenever our minds initially connected. I regained my composure as the visions cleared, and I could clearly hear Malzahar's thoughts. Rumor has it that his last summoner couldn't take the visions and went insane before the end of the six month period. _I told you that that wasn't a rumor. It is a fact that that poor woman went insane._ I heard Malzahar's voice inside my head. There was a slight chuckle in his words. I replied back, _well it doesn't look like you were able to break me. _A slight laugh escaped him. _Alright. Let's start our last match. _Malzahar wandered over to the shop and bough some health potions before taking up his position in the middle lane. After a few more seconds, the animated clay minions began spawning and mindlessly marching down the lanes.

Malzahar

The first wave of mindless minions was upon me. I imagined that Katarina would be close by, but I had yet to see her. We decided to not risk looking for her and took the easy minion kills. My malefic vision had a way of terrorizing even these moronic creatures. _Ok, you have gotten enough bounty. Go back and get some new items, _Eylic's words echoed in my head. I headed back and bought a Catalyst the Protector crystal. On my way back, I noticed something. A redheaded woman was attacking the tower. She was using her minions as a shield to keep the tower from targeting her. Blade after blade flew from her hand at the tower. _Think we should step in, _Eylic questioned with a smug tone. "haha." _Well it would be rude not to, _I replied.

A siege minion was in front of me. I crouched down and hid behind it. Katarina had backed off from the tower when she saw a fresh wave of minions marching towards her. I heard Eylic's voice in my head again. _Ready for some fun?_ He did know how to entice me. The wave of minions marched forward. Katarina began destroying the first few minions in front. I waited patiently. Finally, the siege minion in front of me fell. As soon as it did, that smug look of arrogance on her face turned to one of shock. She threw one of her knives at me. It embedded itself firmly in my shoulder. I continued moving forward. She threw several more knives at me. None of them hit their mark. Now it was my turn.

I opened a zone of negative energy below her feet. It began to drain her of her strength. As she turned to run further away, I flooded her head with horrific visions of the void. At the same time, I called forth a creature from the void to serve me. It chased after the now screaming woman. _Let the panic sink in a bit more before finishing her off, _Eylic's voice echoed in my head. After a few more seconds, I let loose the full fury of the void. I channeled it straight into her fraying mind. She couldn't move. All she could do was scream as the end came for her. After a few seconds more, she toppled over. The life had left her body. Eylic and I congratulated each other on our small victory. She would be respawning in a few moments. We took this time to take down the first mid tower. Garen and Jarvan's battles went well as well. They joined me to take down the second tower. Swain and Darius attempted to repel our advance, but they were too late. We took the second tower before falling back. We each bought our next few items and restored ourselves before heading back into the battle.

The enemy anticipated that we would continue to push down the center lane. They were there waiting for us. I could clearly see the anger burning in her eyes. "Ready for round two," I taunted her. "Shut up you bastard. I'll cut you to pieces," she yelled back at me. Swain now spoke to her. "Katarina, keep control of yourself. We cannot afford to lose this battle." His words were cold and angry. He was also visibly upset. He knew that they were falling behind. Draven threw an ax that hit Garen straight in the chest. Garen cried out in pain before yanking the ax out of himself. The now enraged might of Demacia charged forward with his sword ready. Sona quickly healed his wounds as much as she could. Jarvan and Lux closely followed behind.

I too moved forward. I channeled pulse after pulse of dark energy and directed it straight at Katarina. My newest voidling also charged at her, but she quickly put it down. Darius and Draven were engaged with Garen. Even wounded, he was still holding his own. Jarvan was engaged in combat with a now demonic looking Swain. Suddenly, the earth began to shake as the undead behemoth charged forward. He knocked Jarvan out of the way. As he was about to land a killing blow, Swain signaled for him to stop. He stood over the crown prince of Demacia and twisted his cane. The top half separated into a sword. "Someday you will die your last death," he said coolly as he raised the sword up.

Jarvan suddenly kicked the master tactician in the chest and jumped to his feet. At that same moment, a giant crater wall formed around them. Swain stumbled backwards against the stone wall. Jarvan swung his lance forward. It found its mark straight through Swain's heart. The other Noxus members looked on with shock in their eyes. This distraction proved to be their undoing. Before they could react, Garen and Luxanna had taken down the brothers Darius and Draven. I once again filled Katarina's head full of visions of what awaited her in the void. She fell dead at my feet. Now all that was left was the undead juggernaut. We all charged him at the same time. Garen hacked away at him while Jarvan stabbed him over and over again. Sona, Luxanna, and I continued our assault from a distance. Finally, he dropped his ax and made one final attempt to chase us before succumbing to his injuries.

The match was effectively ours now. Their final inner towers fell as we began an assault on their nexus. Even after respawning, they knew the match was lost. They just looked on as their nexus began to crackle and spark before finally exploding. Eylic called out to my mind once more. _Great job Malzahar. I would say that this has been a great final match. It has been a privilege to work with you these last six months. _A small laugh escaped my mouth. _Well don't be going soft on me now, but I will say you are an exceptional summoner, _I replied to him. The image of Summoner's Rift began to fade around me. After another moment, I was back in the summoning chamber at the institute. Swain was visibly angry that they had lost the match. Everyone had heard the rumor about the magical artifacts being discovered in the disputed land. Perhaps there was some truth to it after all. The entire Noxus team left the room in silence. The summoners followed shortly after. Summoners and champions work together. Each is capable of acting on his own though. Swain's summoner should have stopped him from doing such a foolish action. It was clear from the look on the summoner's face as he left, that he had realized that. Too late now of course. The Demacian team was still celebrating. Garen and Jarvan joined in. My interested do not lie with Demacia or Noxus. I serve the void. I decided to take my leave. It was odd that they would ask Eylic to be a representative in this fight. While he does fight for Demacia, I am very far removed from the typical choices of champions used to represent Demacia in this important of an issue. _Oh well. It is none of my concern. Now should I actually paint over those runes in my room or add to them instead…._

Eylic

I watched Malzahar leave the room. He was never one for celebration. "I serve the void. Nothing else is important," he would say. My fellow summoners and I congratulated each other. Jarvan bestowed his blessing upon us all before taking his leave. _Hm. I should probably head home. I'm guessing I'll need to do plenty of house cleaning. I also need to be here bright and early tomorrow for champion interviews. _Champion interviews was a process where summoners were free to interview all available champions. They could also put forward a request to be paired with a certain champion. The request would be taken into consideration when champions were assigned to their new summoners. I walked out of the summoning room towards one of the various court yards.

I sat underneath a tree and looked up at the sky. I reflected on how much I had learned these last six months. I came from a family of powerful mages. My abilities included being able to convert trace elements in the air into a nearly indestructible crystalline substance. It was a talent that not many could achieve. My brother also attempted to learn it. After a while, he gave up and switched to fire manipulation instead. Even though my family was known for our spell casting abilities, none of us had ever been picked to be a summoner. It was a great surprise to my family especially since I was the younger child. Even my brother was happy for me. I breezed through the mandatory two months of training. This involved playing virtual matches inside a mock viewing sphere. Many summoners said I was a natural. I met Malzahar not long after that. And here I am now: about to undergo my second binding ceremony and start a new pact. I constructed a crystal rose in my hand and looked at it for a long while before disintegrating it back into dust.

I got up and headed back towards the teleportation beacon. Along the way, someone bumped into me. "Hey watch where you're going." The young woman who had not been paying attention to her surroundings looked up at me. Her amber eyes looked sad, and her white tails drooped behind her. _This must be Ahri. _I thought to myself. Everyone had heard about her. Not many people wanted to go near her without having ulterior motives. "I'm very sorry," she said before quickly walking away. _If that girl can't pay attention to something as simple as walking, she isn't going to be very useful on a battlefield. _

Ahri

I quickly ran past the summoner I had bumped into. He had a very annoyed look in his eyes. I don't know why, but it hurt the way he looked at me. _I wonder if he will be one of the summoners looking for a new champion in two days. I know I really want to be paired with someone, but I hope it isn't him. _I hurried back to my room inside the dorms of the institute and quietly ate the food I had been carrying back with me all while trying not to cry. _Why did that look hurt me so much?_


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Hi readers. Welcome to another chapter of the story. There may be a delay of more than a week for the next chapter as it is finals week for me, and then I have to fly home for a few days to visit my family. I'll be sure to get back to writing after that. Once again, thanks for reading and enjoy.

Chapter 3 – Interviews

Eylic

_**RIIIIIING! **_I reached over and turned off the new alarm clock that was joyfully ringing on my bedside table. I sat up and stretched. I don't remember the last time I slept so well. Even though the new binding ceremony wasn't until tomorrow, Malzahar and I did not have another match scheduled before then. We spent the rest of the day after the match yesterday cleaning up the house. The house I was living in was a gift from my parents. They wanted me to live on my own closer to the institute. It was a beautiful one story house with two bed rooms and three bathrooms. My parents had actually offered to build me a small mansion, but I told them there was no reason to, and I wouldn't know what to do with all the space.

After everything was packed up and cleaned, Malzahar and I went out for a drink. We headed back early since I had to be up in the morning for my interviews with the champions. He grabbed his stuff and headed back to the institute dorms. I went to bed that night exhausted, but there was no chanting and no snoring to keep me up.

I hopped out of bed and went into the connecting bathroom to shower. After emerging from the shower, I dried off, shaved, and put on my purple robes. Looking in the mirror, it was clear that my black hair could use a trim, but there would be no time for that now. My fingers began to glow as I ran them over the tips of my bangs. The hair that I touched changed from black to light blue. It was a look I was known for, but the color changing spell had a habit of fading after a few days. After I was happy with how I looked, I headed out the door and back to the teleportation beacon.

"Hello again," the small Yordle said when I entered the room. I smiled and paid my fee before placing my hand on the large crystal and picturing the teleportation hall at the institute in my head. My surroundings once again faded and changed around me before coming back into focus at the Institute of War. I opened a small piece of paper that I had kept in my robe. It contained my instructions for where to go. First step was checking in with the High Council.

I made my way to the High Council chamber. Alistar stood guard at the door. As I got closer, he stepped out of the way and quietly nodded to me with a slight grin. He was one of the champions I interviewed six months ago. While the interview did go well, ultimately entered into a pact with another summoner. She was a pretty young summoner, and I heard that they would be renewing their pact at this ceremony. I walked past him and knocked on the large wooden door in front of me. It opened, and I walked in.

Inside the room was a wooden chair and three large stone podiums. I took my seat in the wooden chair and looked up at the podiums. The three councilors sat down behind the podiums. Their hoods obscured their faces. I don't think anyone had actually ever seen their faces. The first hooded figure finally spoke. "Good morning summoner Eylic, and welcome back to the Institute of War. You have a long day ahead of you, and we want to ask you one question. Are you ready to serve the League as a representative of Demacia for the next six months? Once you accept this agreement, you cannot back out of it." The one who spoke was High Councilor Razik. The person on his right was High Councilor Marak, and the one on his left was High Councilor Kolminye. The other two sat in silence as they waited for my decision. "Yes. I am ready to once again serve as a representative of Demacia in the League of Legends," I finally replied. Kolminye stood up from her seat. "Then you may conduct your interviews. The champions available this rotation will be visible from your crystal. You are now free to leave. Please send in the next summoner on your way out." Kolminye sat back down in her seat. I got up from the wooden chair bowed, and turned towards the door. The next summoner was leaning against the wall outside. "You can head in now," I said to him as I walked out. He nodded and turned to go in.

I took the piece of paper out from my robe again and opened it up. The room I was assigned to interview in was connected to the main library. The library was massive. There were texts from all over the world in here. The shelves easily reached up two stories high. I made my way through the labyrinth of books towards the back of the library. Occasionally I stopped when a book title caught my eye. I had done plenty of reading in my time thanks to my magic studies. I finally made it to my assigned room and entered. Inside was a table set up with plenty of food and drink. There was also another small table in the room with chairs on either end. I grabbed a plate of food and a glass of water and took a seat at the table. I pulled my crystal out of my robe and placed it on the table.

The crystal floated in the air, and the holographic sphere formed around it. Visible in the sphere was a list of every champion in the league. The portraits of the available champions were displayed in color at the top of the list while the unavailable champions were greyed out. Each champion's portrait also had a colored border around it. A green border meant that the League had judged the champion as compatible. Red borders meant that champions were not compatible. An incompatible champion could only be chosen under very few circumstances, and it had been years since anyone had tried. I took a drink from my water glass and placed my finger on the random icon on the sphere. The portrait of a black man with a long ponytail now displayed on my summoner's sphere.

Lucian

I walked through the stacks of books before coming to a wooden door near the back. There were several doors next to each other. I stopped at the one with the golden "3" on it. I opened the door and walked in. "Ah welcome Lucian. Nice to finally meet you. My name is Eylic," the young summoner said with a smile. I walked over to the table that was covered with food and grabbed a plate. After piling it with food, I sat down across from the summoner. I always hated these interviews, and now was an especially bad time.

I took a bite out of one of the sandwiches on my plate before putting it down. I folded my hands and looked at the young summoner in the eyes. "So what exactly would you like to know about me, summoner?" He mirrored me by also folding his hands in front of his face and said, "Anything at all that you would like to tell me, and if you would be willing to be a potential teammate." _Hm so the young, honest, and inexperienced type. I heard that he is quite good on the fields of justice, but I can't ask him to come along with me on my mission, _I thought to myself. After a few seconds more I replied to him. "Well, my name is Lucian. I hunt and exterminate the evil and undead. One of them took my wife from me, and I have sworn vengeance against him. I must inform you that I have an important mission to venture on soon, and this is not a good time for me to be bound to a summoner. That really sums up everything I have to say." The young summoner unfolded his hands and took a drink from his glass then looked back and said, "Yes. I've heard about you and Thresh. I imagine your mission has something to do with that. While I can respect your decision, you did make a commitment to serve the League. I personally will not be the one to deny you your quest for vengeance." A shocked look crossed my face. _So he wasn't stupid even if he was young and inexperienced. _

We both finished our food in relative silence. He asked a few more questions and jotted some things down in a notebook he had with him. After we both had finished, he placed a small crystal on the table. A holographic orb formed around the crystal. He looked around the orb and said, "You are free to go Lucian. Thank you for coming by." I gave him a slight nod and got up and headed for the door. "Oh wait! One more thing," I heard him call behind me. I saw a small glimmer as he tossed something towards me. I caught it in my hand. It was a white crystal. The crystal began changing shape in my hand until it formed a sharp dagger. As it finished forming in my hand, Eylic spoke again. "That dagger is made of a very strong crystal that is nearly indestructible. It also has a way of causing great pain to undead. Maybe it can help you on your mission." "Thanks," I replied before leaving the room. I walked back into the library and put the dagger in my belt. I exited the library and headed towards my next interview. _Sigh. I'm going to have to be dealing with these all day._

Eylic

I picked up my plate and walked back to the food table. I was always hungry, and the food was free. I'd be doing these interviews for a while. "Alright. Let's see who is next."

Several more hours went by. One of the institute cooks brought by more food to refill the table at one point. Some of the champions had huge eating habits that rivaled my own. I was near the end of my list now. There was only one highlighted champion left to talk to. I pressed on the portrait and waited. The door opened, and in stepped the last champion, Ahri.

Ahri

I had gotten up early this morning to get ready. I had to make sure I looked my best. I bathed and dried off before putting on my kimono and my favorite perfume. It was still a little too early for interviews to start, so I decided to take a walk around one of the court yards. It was a beautiful day out. Too bad I would have to spend most of it inside dark rooms while summoners stared at my breasts.

After a short while, the crystal I was required to carry today began to glow and vibrate. I walked over to the nearest map of the institute and touched the crystal to it. A red dot formed on the room that I was supposed to go to. I walked towards the marked room with a bit more spring in my step. For some reason I felt optimistic today.

_Ugh. I've been through hours of interviews today, and I haven't met anyone that I would want to be paired with. _I had been through several interviews by now. I wasn't quite sure how many now. Most of the summoners were males. That was just a fact, and all the ones I met today seemed to be nervous and afraid of me or too busy staring at me while lost in their sexual fantasies. The few female summoners that did interview me all seemed rather cold. I didn't really like talking to them. It was getting to be near the end of the day. I should only have one or two left I bet. _I'll have to put on a good impression and be my charming self._

I came towards a room at the back of the library with a golden "3" on it. I waited a second to compose myself before heading inside. "Hello there summoner," I said in a sultry voice as I opened the door. I immediately noticed that he was the summoner I ran into yesterday. I gulped a bit, but he did give a smile and reply hello back. He was a good looking young man. Much younger than many of the other summoners. He could only be in his mid-twenties at most. He was tall and in good shape but not too muscular. He had a fair complexion, and his black hair fell slightly over his eyes. The tips of his bangs were a light blue. I went over to the table to get some food. I bent over and curled my tails around me so that if he was looking over, he'd get a good view of my ass. Since men do tend to stare, I might as well take it to my advantage.

I sat down at the table and leaned forward a bit exposing my cleavage. "So you wanted to speak with me," I said with a smile before blowing a kiss his direction. My charm magic floated across the table, but before it could hit its mark, a white crystal wall appeared in front of him. After a few seconds, the wall disintegrated again. The smile on his face was replaced with a frown. "I know about your charm magic, and I won't be having any of it. Now let's begin," he said in an annoyed manner. He was quick, and not many summoners who had never met me knew the specifics of my magic. My ears and tails fell as I made another gulp and took a sip of the glass of juice I had gotten.

"So, I understand that you're from Ionia. So am I," he said after a few seconds. "Yes," I replied. "I used to be a fox, but one day I came across a dying man who changed me into a human. Well… mostly. The transformation wasn't complete, and I wasn't entirely human in mind either. I sort of … learned that." He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "You mean you became more human as you devoured human life force," he said in a very calm tone. His words shocked me, and my heart sank a bit. I stood up and turned towards to door. "Wait," he called from behind me. "We haven't finished yet. You don't even know my name yet." I sighed and sat back down. I turned to face him again and asked "So, what is your name then, summoner?" "My name is Eylic. This will be my second rotation as a summoner, and I am very excited for it. As I said, I am from Ionia. The League chose me to be a summoner, and I accepted. I decided to represent Demacia because I believe in their cause," he replied with that smile back on his face. It gave me sort of a warm feeling. I didn't know what to think of him. He could make me feel happy one moment and hurt me the next. He got up from the table and took his glass and mine and refilled them. "Thank you," I replied as I took a drink from the glass before setting it down. "So why do you feel the need to use your 'abilities' to control men for these interviews," he asked with the smile once again gone from his face. "I… It is just… it has been so long since…" I couldn't stop myself from stammering. "Fuck you!" I yelled at him as I sprang up from the table and ran out the door.

_What right does he have to judge me? He doesn't know anything about me. _My head now hurt, and I was holding back tears. I took the small crystal and threw it back behind me before slamming the door. I ran back to my room. _It looks like I will be going another six months alone._ I got undressed and filled up the bath tub again. I climbed in and slowly sank down into the water. Tomorrow was going to be rough. I got out when the water became uncomfortably cool. I dried myself off and then went to lie down in bed. The sheets absorbed some of the moisture from my damp, naked body. It had been rather warm out, so I didn't bother to wear anything to sleep. I rolled over and attempted to fall asleep.

Eylic

So that was Ahri. I had to admit, she had a lot of passion, but if she can't learn to control it, she'd never be a useful partner. I jotted a few more notes down in my notebook. I had nearly filled it all with facts, details, and stories about the champions I talked with today. I closed it and took one more sandwich before leaving the room. "I wonder who they'll be pairing me with tomorrow," I thought out loud to myself. "Have a good day summoner," the woman behind the library desk said to me. I gave her a wave as I headed out towards the teleportation beacon.

When I got home, I took off my robe and laid in bed. I set my alarm for late in the afternoon. The binding ceremony was not until tomorrow night, and I had nothing to do until then. I quickly got to sleep and thought about all of the people I had talked with today. Strangely, Ahri's picture stayed in my head the longest. Maybe it was just because she was the last person I talked with.

Malzahar

*Hiccup* "Weeeeyah aaaaall live in a yhellllla submherine, ah yhella submherine." I hated interviews, and everyone I met today seemed to be terrified of me. I doubted that I would get bonded tomorrow which was something I was perfectly fine with. Time to get drunk. *hiccup*


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Why are you looking here? Look a bit lower.

No a bit lower.

The story is after this line. Enjoy.

Chapter 4 – A Pact and a Promise

Eylic

_Well. Here goes nothing. _I had just arrived at the institute. The sun had just finished setting which meant that it was almost time for the binding ceremony to begin. I made my way to the largest courtyard at the center of the institute. A large carpet divided the courtyard down the middle. At the end of the carpet was a small table with a crystal on it. A podium sat behind this table. Several large dining tables were laid out on either side of the carpet. Summoners sat at the tables on the right side, and champions, with a few obvious exceptions, sat at the tables on the left side.

Everyone was busy gathering food before the event started. "Hi Malzahar," I said to the void prophet as I approached him from behind. "Would you like to grab a drink?" I imagined he was smiling under that dark hood as he nodded to me. We made our way to the drink table. "So do you have a good feeling on who your next champion will be," he asked me as we approached the table. I grabbed a mug and began filling it with ale. "I'm honestly not sure. I had a few interesting interviews. I'll leave the judgement up to the institute now," I replied to his question while carefully eyeing the level of my drink. Malzahar stopped pouring only when his glass began to overflow. "Haha. I have a pretty good feeling I'll be getting the next six months off. I do believe I scared away all my potential summoners," he replied with a chuckle before taking a large gulp of his drink. He proceeded to replenish the missing amount. "Well Eylic, good luck to you." We crashed our glasses together as he floated off towards the champion side of the court yard. I grabbed some food before taking an empty spot at one of the summoner tables.

This ceremony was not as big as the last one. Only champions and summoners who are looking for a new partner are required to attend this event. Summoners and champions who renewed their pacts did so at a more informal ceremony this morning. Many summoners try to take a personal test to work with the same champion for an entire year. There are also not as many new summoners introduced to the institute during this time of the year. Most of the faces I saw tonight I recognized from the ceremony six months ago. Many champions were also missing including Jarvan, Lux, and Garen. It came as no surprise that their summoners would be renewing their pacts. They were all about honor and commitment to Demacia.

I continued to look around the courtyard. Lucian was leaning against one of the stone arch supports. The look on his face made it obvious that he did not want to be here, but he did give me a slight nod when I smiled at him. Malzahar and Vel'koz were both laughing at Katarina who had fallen over due to Vel'koz disintegrating her chair as she went to sit down. She stormed over towards them and began whispering towards them. I couldn't make out what she was saying, but after a moment more, she grabbed a new chair and returned to the table. "No sense of humor," Malzahar grumbled. "An astute observation," Vel'koz retorted. _She might still be mad about the mindfuck we gave her the other day, _I thought to myself and softly laughed. Just then, something caught my eye.

Ahri walked into the courtyard in a beautiful red, strapless dress. It was not very long as to allow her tails to flow freely. She also had a red flower in her hair, and she looked simply stunning. Almost everyone there turned to look at her as she entered and joyfully made her way to the table full of food. She had a bounce in her stride, and her eyes looked even more beautiful and alive than I had ever remembered. "Oh man. The things I would do to her," the summoner sitting next to me muttered. I elbowed him in the side, and he let out a startled gasp before glaring at me. I returned his glare, and he turned back to his food. I turned my attention back to the fox girl. _Why am I so focused on her?_

Ahri

I gathered a plate of food and a large glass of cider before finding a spot at the table. I felt good about myself tonight, and I was hopeful I'd be paired with a summoner tonight. _No more having to be alone and having to be stuck here at the institute. _I happily took another sip of my cider before turning my attention to the podium at the end of the carpet. One of the High Council members stepped up to the podium. The ceremony was about to begin. I could never tell which councilor it was until they spoke. The hooded figure began speaking then.

"Welcome champions and summoners to the binding ceremony." _Ah so it is Marak this time. _"Tonight, each summoner here will be paired with a champion for the next six months," Marak continued. "You will live together, and you will fight together. If your bond is strong, you may choose to continue to fight together. Remember this: you are a team, and neither one of you is a servant to the other. When you fight on the battlefield, you become one heart and one mind. Use this to your advantage, and you will make a truly amazing team. Now then, we shall begin." Each one of the council members had their own variation to this speech, but each one told their version the exact same way every time. It got tiring after a while. The last speech to be interesting was the first time that Kolminye had to deliver her version. The amusement of that had faded too though.

Marak stretched his hand out past the podum. The crystal on the table below began floating in the air. Two holographic portraits appeared in front of it. The portrait on the left was of Katarina, and the portrait on the right was that of a young, male summoner with brown hair, light skin, and cold eyes. They both stepped forward. The summoner placed his summoner crystal below the floating crystal displaying his portrait. He touched his portrait, and Katarina touched hers. His crystal changed from a green color to a red. They both bowed to Marak and departed without saying a word. _They'll be perfect for each other, _I thought to myself. The crystal spat out the next set of images. These ceremonies were always so boring to me.

There was one interesting occurrence about mid-way through. The portraits for Malzahar, and a young, blonde summoner appeared in front of the crystal. Malzahar made his way up to the podium. The young summoner got about half way there before turning and running out of the courtyard. "Well, I guess summoner Eric will not be paired this cycle," Marak said with a slight laugh. Malzahar began laughing hysterically before returning to his seat.

I began to worry. The ceremony was nearing its end, and I still had not been paired with a summoner. _Would I have to go another six months alone? _Suddenly, I saw my face in front of the crystal. I was excited, but my stomach flipped as soon as I saw who my portrait was next to. I thought that I was going to be sick. _There was no way he was going to take me as a champion. He was sure to appeal the decision. _I walked forward. He calmly stood up and walked forward. We both got to the table. _Any second now he is going to say it. _Instead, he placed his crystal on the table and tapped his portrait. "Wait!" I exclaimed. "You actually want to be paired with me?" I was a bit shocked. "Well, there are not many options left here, and I don't see a huge problem with it," he said. "Well maybe I don't want to be paired with you," I shouted back. "Is there a problem here?" Marak interjected. "It is your choice if you do not want to be paired with him. We can see if there is another summoner you will be compatible with, but I will say that he is indeed the most correct match available by a very strong percentage," Marak added. I couldn't take being stuck in the institute any more. I had to get out for a bit. Even if my way out was with him. "No. I do not have an objection," I said as I tapped my portrait. Eylic's crystal changed from a purple color to a pink color. "Your pact has been made, and you two are now bound together for the next six months," Marak stated. Eylic smiled and lifted up his arm. "After you," he said. We turned and walked out of the courtyard. The ceremony continued behind us. I felt like I was going to barf.

Eylic

Well, she may have not been my ideal pick, but I was not going to take any chances with the ceremony being almost over. If there are no other close matches after an appeal is made, the summoner simply cannot participate in the League of Legends for the next six months. Besides, I thought this could actually work. Ahri was following behind me now as we headed towards the teleportation beacon. "Take my hand," I said to her once we reached the room. She looked at me quickly before doing as I had asked. I pictured my home town in my head, and we began to teleport.

Once everything came back into focus, I gestured for her to follow me as we walked back to my house. She hadn't said a word to me since we left the courtyard. "So nice night huh? The stars look beautiful." She continued looking down at the ground, and her ears were down. "You look very beautiful in that dress." She suddenly stopped behind me. I stopped too. "Thank you," she replied before she started walking again. I couldn't tell because it was rather dark out now, but I thought she began blushing ever so slightly.

We came to the door of my house. I took the keys from my robe and unlocked the door. I also handed her the second key I had with me. "Well, this is the main entrance. Your bedroom is down this hall on the left. The bathroom is directly next to it. My room is the one on the right. Get settled in and get to sleep. The institute will be bringing by your stuff in the morning. I can help you unpack if you'd like." "No thanks," she said. She walked down the hall and into the bathroom and closed the door. I walked towards the kitchen and grabbed myself a glass. After a moment, I opened back up the cabinet and grabbed a second glass. I heated up some water and made some tea. I walked back towards the bed rooms just in time to see Ahri walk out of the bathroom with her dress over her arm. She was completely naked.

"Agh!" I cried in a mixture of shock and pain as I spilt one of the glasses of hot tea all over myself. Surprisingly, I managed to keep the second glass mostly full. "You… You're naked." I was in shock, but it was a beautiful sight. Her skin was pale and flawless. Her breasts were large and perfect. Her over all figure was very shapely and perfectly toned. She was quick enough to cover her private area with one of her tails. "Yes. I sleep like this. Are you alright?" She said. "Yes," I replied quickly while now looking off to the side. "I just uhm… wasn't expecting that. I made some tea for you." I extended out my arm that held the mostly full cup. She took it and said "thank you. Uhm. Next time I'll change inside my room. Well good night." She turned and went into the bed room.

I cleaned up the mess on the floor and made myself a new cup of tea. I took a look at my arm which now had a minor burn on it. I casted a quick heal spell on it and headed back towards my room. I got to my door, when I thought I heard crying. I held my hand up to Ahri's door ready to knock on when I heard her muffled voice inside say "please don't let me be alone again." _I promise Ahri. You won't be alone¸_ I thought to myself before turning to face my bedroom door again. I opened it and headed inside. I threw my robe in my laundry pile. I was going to have to clean that in the morning. I laid down in my bed. My mind kept thinking about the beautiful yet sad, naked fox-girl I was now sharing a house with for the next few months. _Why do I get the feeling this is going to be quite an adventure?_ I finished my tea before falling deep into sleep.

Malzahar

So I didn't get paired. Can't say that is a surprise, but it was hilarious to actually have a summoner run in fear of me. I don't think life can get better than this. They did let me keep one of the barrels of ale they had left. The institute had assigned me one of its dorms. They had done some remodeling since the last time I was here. The rooms were bigger and just looked nicer over all. It was still missing something though. I got to work inscribing my runes on the walls. "Come to think of it … that spell I left in my old room at Eylic's house should be wearing off at any time now… "Oh how I wish I could be there to see his reaction to that. Haha."


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Hi everyone. Thanks for reading. I hope you are having as much fun reading it as I am writing it. This chapter will be the last sort of "introduction" chapter before the adventure really starts. We'll be seeing more of Lucian and Malzahar later, and there will be a few other people introduced as the story goes on. So without further ado, I give you chapter 5.

Chapter 5 – Practice

Eylic

"AHHH!" Ahri's sudden scream from the room across the hall jolted me awake. I quickly hopped out of bed and ran for her door. I made sure to keep my eyes down since she was still no doubt naked. "What is wro-," I started to say, but as soon as I entered the room, I knew what it was that was upsetting her. The entire room was again covered in runes and other scribblings of the void. They were all pulsing a dark purple. "Dammit Malzahar," I said angrily.

Malzahar

"Ha ha ha, I sense a disturbance in the force."

Eylic

I looked around the room as Ahri stepped out to get dressed. I felt slightly guilty for taking a glance at her ass as she walked out the door. I shook my head and focused back on the room. There was a note stuck to one of the walls that had not been there before. I went over to it and took it off the wall.

**Hello Eylic,**

**I thought I would play a little prank on you as my last farewell. You asked me to clear these runes off the walls. I did as you asked… sorta. You see, I used a concealing spell that would only hide them until it wore off. It should take about 72 hours, so I'll be long gone. I wish I could see the look on you and your new partner's face though. Until the void comes, I wish you all the best.**

**Malzahar**

**P.S. Here is a spell that will permanently remove my writing.**

There were some additional scribblings written at the bottom of the note. I wrote them onto the wall and placed my hand against it. Some of my mana flowed into the writings. All of the runes began to fade away, and they finally vanished. "Well hopefully they will be gone for good this time."

Ahri came back into the room. She was fully dressed in her usual outfit. "That should fix it," I said to her. "Thank you," she replied. She walked over to the table by her bed and picked up an empty cup. She handed me the cup. "Thanks again for the tea last night. It was very good," she said with a slight smile. I took it from her. "Thank you. I'll go make some breakfast. I'll call you when it is ready if you would like." "That sounds perfect," she said to me as she sat down on her bed.

I went into the kitchen and turned on the stove. I fried up some bacon and eggs and made some toast. I forgot that I had used up the last of my coffee the other day so I just poured a glass of milk instead. "Vel'koz owes me," I muttered to myself.

I sat all the food on the table and moved towards the entry way to call Ahri when she came into the room. "It smells great," she said as she skipped over to the table and sat down. I sat down on the other side of the table and began eating. "So, ready for our first practice match," I curiously asked her. "I'll warn you now that I have not been in a serious match in quite some time, and my abilities may be a bit rusty," she replied back to me with a slight frown. "Well let's just see how it goes." I gave her a smile as I stood up to put my dishes in the sink. I went to my room and got changed.

Ahri

Eylic left the kitchen to go get ready for our practice match. We still had a couple of hours until the match started, but I was already nervous. I finished the food on my plate before putting it in the sink with Eylic's dishes. It was very good, and I couldn't remember the last time someone cooked for me. _I think the last time was one of my victims_… I quickly shook the thought from my mind.

The next thing I knew, there was a knock at the front door. Eylic was still getting ready in his room, so I went to the door and answered it. "Hello Ahri," the man at the door said. He was from the institute. I had seen him around before. He had several suit cases and crates behind him. "We brought your stuff from your old dorm," he continued on. "Thank you," I said. My room is this way if you could please follow me. He brought in the first bag. Several yordles followed behind him with the rest of the boxes. Once they were done placing my things in my room, the man took a bow and walked out the door. "Who was that?" Eylic asked from behind me. "Oh it was some people from the institute with my stuff." I opened up the first crate which contained my own sheets. The second crate was full of my other clothes I occasionally wore. Champions were encouraged to wear the same outfit on days that they fought so that they were easily recognizable. I also quite liked this look. "Well that looks like it would be beautiful on you," Eylic commented as I took the first dress out and held it up in front of me. I hopped up off the bed to go place it in the closet. I made sure he didn't see me blushing. "You like any help?" he asked me when I had turned back around. I nodded. "That would be great."

We had everything unpacked and put away in about an hour. Eylic had gone back to the kitchen to clean up the dishes from breakfast. I laid down on my bed and stared up at the ceiling. I still didn't quite know what to think of him. He seemed nice, but I got the feeling that he only agreed to make a pact with me to avoid not being paired at all. _Can I really trust him? _Many people knew about my past. It made them not trust me, and I did not trust them. _Well I guess we'll see how this match goes._

After a little while, Eylic returned to my room. "Ready to go?" he asked in a cheerful tone. I nodded and stood up. We walked down the road that we traveled on yesterday, but we did not stop at the teleportation beacon. I looked at him quizzically and asked "where are we going?" "My house is only a 45 minute walk from the institute, and it is a nice day out," he said to me. We continued to walk. The slight breeze felt very nice. After about 40 minutes, we saw the main entrance to the institute. We came to the large door and went inside. Once inside, we headed down the main hall towards the summoning chamber. Eylic took his place next to his other team members, and I took my place on one of the teleportation platforms. An elder summoner stood in the center of the room. "Today's practice match will be in Summoner's Rift. For those of you who are new to the institute, this will be your first time learning how to fight together with your champion. Remember that they have a will and thoughts of their own, and it is not quite the same as the simulations you practiced on. For those of you that are not new, this will be your chance to become more acquainted with your new champion for these next six months. You may now begin the match," he said in a booming voice. Once he was done speaking, a light began glowing around me, and I suddenly found myself in the familiar battlefield of Summoner's Rift. I had a new, warm feeling inside my head as Eylic connected to me. _Alright. Let's see what we can do, _his voice said to me.

Eylic

_Hmmm. Ahri, Vel'koz, Jinx, Zak, and Tryndamere. Two of these summoners are brand new. I'm not quite sure how this is going to turn out. _I placed my crystal down in front of me. It glowed pink before the familiar orb formed around it. I could clearly see Ahri inside the orb. The match was about to start, so we moved to the center lane.

Our team's early game was not off to a good start. Despite our opponents having three new people, they were still very well organized. Our team was quickly falling apart. Jinx was having too much fun doing her own thing, and her new summoner had no control over her whatsoever, Zak's was doing a terrible job of managing the jungle, and his summoner was not listening to the champion's advice, and Ahri and I were not exactly syncing either. Vel'koz and Tryndamere were doing rather well, but they couldn't carry the entire team on their own. Vel'koz was also becoming bored it seemed. _No, Ahri I said go right. You're about to walk into a trap! _ I tried to warn her, but it was too late. "Ahhh!" she cried as Warwick's claws sliced through her. I put my face in my hands as I waited for her to be brought back. _You need to focus Ahri. That is the third time you have gone against what I had said, _I thought in my mind. _I know what I am doing, _her voice replied inside my head. She sounded aggravated. Warwick, Katarina, and Darius headed down the center lane. They had already destroyed the first two towers and were moving in on the next.

Ahri was finally revived, and she headed out towards the attackers. Vel'koz and Zak were already trying to fight the invaders off. Darius managed to take Zak down just as Ahri got there. Jinx was nowhere to be seen, and Trynamere was busy fighting off Cassiopeia and Zyra. Ahri charged forward with blue spirit fire all around her. She stopped and sent out a blast that hit Warwick straight in the chest. She dashed again and sent out another blast that also found its mark. She dashed forward one more time, but Warwick managed to jump out of the way of the final blast. It didn't do him much good as he was engulfed by a flash of bright purple light a moment later. He disintegrated into nothingness as Vel'koz turned his beam onto Katarina. The nimble assassin managed to jump out of the way of the beam. She turned around and threw a dagger that found its mark in the center of Vel'koz's largest eye. He shrieked in pain as he fell to the ground. Katarina smirked, but she looked down and saw that she was standing on a fissure that Vel'koz had placed seconds before. The fissure erupted, and the blast killed Katarina. _Well that is two down, _I thought. Darius was still left. _Ahri, you should retreat. You don't have any backup, and he has an advantage over you. _No sooner had I finished my thought, did she charge forward. She threw her orb forward. It missed, and Darius charged at her. The orb turned around to return to her and hit Darius square in the back. He stumbled. _Ahri, run now! _I called to her. _I can take him, _she replied back to me. She launched three balls of fire towards her target, but he rolled out of the way. He was pretty nimble for a big guy. He swung his ax at Ahri. It caught her feet, and she fell down, hard. He raised it above his head and smirked as he was about to drop the large blade onto her. I turned my head as I didn't want to watch.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Jinx came riding in on a rocket. She jumped off just before it impacted Darius. It sent him flying into the tree line before exploding with a loud boom. Ahri got to her feet. "Looks like I got to ya just in time," Jinx said with a laugh. "Jinx where have you been," Ahri angrily questioned the blue haired psychopath. "While they were busy trying to destroy us, I left them a little present at their nexus," she said while pulling out a smiley face button. She clicked the button, and a large explosion echoed through the area. Their nexus had been destroyed, and we had somehow miraculously won the match. I looked over at Jinx's summoner who was just as surprised as the rest of us. The poor guy was going to have his hands full for the next six months, but her little impromptu strategy did win us the match.

The champions teleported back. Our team was all too shocked and confused to celebrate. The other team was clearly frustrated. They quickly left the room. Ahri sulked over to me. "What was that? We need to work together if we are going to win. You acted way too rash," I said to her. "I know I made a mistake, but I know what I'm doing," she snapped back at me. "You need to actually see me as a capable person and not just someone you got stuck with for the next six months," she continued. "Hey, that's not fair," I snapped back at her, but she had already turned around and started walking out the door. "Ahri, wait up," I called to her. I caught up to her and started walking beside her. She was walking at a very fast pace, and her tails were very close to her body. We continued to walk in silence until an elderly summoner stopped us. "Please follow me. The High Council would like to see you Eylic," he said to me. Ahri and I both stopped and looked at each other. "Please. It is important," he said.

We followed him to the familiar door of the council chamber. I opened the door to walk inside. Ahri stopped behind me. "Are you coming?" I asked. She looked at me and hesitantly said, "Sorry. It is just that I have never been in there before." I took her by the hand and led her into the room. There was a small bench in there this time instead of a wooden chair. We both sat down as the High Councilors stood in front of their podiums. "Eylic. We have called you here for a very specific reason," Marak spoke. "Do you recall your last match with Malzahar?" Razik continued. "Yes," I quickly replied. Kolminye now spoke. "As you have probably figured out, the dispute was not over farm land. A very powerful and ancient weapon was recently discovered there by some people looking to settle the land. Of course this led to both Demacia and Noxus making claims to the land. The reason why you were chosen is because the weapon has origins with the void. You are familiar with the void and have shown a great resistance to it. We also believe you to be trustworthy which is why we are entrusting you with this information." I sat there, speechless. I tried to interpret what I had just heard. "You are being assigned on official League business. Your remaining mandatory four practice matches have been waived since this assignment may take some time. You leave tomorrow to meet our team of researchers at the excavation site. You will meet Malzahar there. Do you understand?" Marak continued on. I was still trying to comprehend what I just heard, but I nodded my head. Ahri and I stood up and walked out of the chamber.

"Well I guess we better get packed for tomorrow," I said to Ahri once we were outside the chamber. She looked at me with a confused look before asking, "Why would you want me to go with you?" "We are still partners, and it could be fun. Besides, if we are going to be missing our practice matches, we are going to need to find other ways to work on communication," I said. She glared at me before continuing on. We came to the teleportation beacon, but she pulled me to keep walking past it. We walked out the main door of the institute and headed home. "We are going to have a long day tomorrow. Let's enjoy the fresh air and quite while we can," she said with a smile on her face. Well, we definitely had some issues to work through, but I think things can work out for these next six months.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Hope you have enjoyed the story so far. Here is where our adventure begins.

This chapter took me a few days to write this time as I really wanted to make it a good starting point for our adventure. There is plenty of action and plenty of secrets that will be revealed later. This is also the longest chapter so far. Depending on how much action I decide to include in each chapter, most of the other ones will probably be similar in length. If you feel it is too long, let me know. I really hope you enjoy it. Any feedback is welcome.

Chapter 6 – Relic of the past

Ahri

*Yaaaaaaawn* I stretched my arms and tails as I inhaled deeply. We had to get up early, and we had been traveling on this caravan to the dig site for hours. We had made it through the Howling Marsh and were finally almost there. I started to nod off.

"Ahri. Ahri." I heard Eylic calling my name. I opened my eyes to see him leaning over me. I was on a bed in an unfamiliar room. It looked like it was dark outside. How long had we been traveling, and how did we get to this room? "You fell asleep on the way here, and I didn't want to wake you," he said in a calm tone. He had a smile on his face. His blue eyes sparkled in the dim light of the room. They were almost lost behind the blue tips of his hair. He really was quite attractive. I stretched and sat up. He sat down beside me. "Ouch," I said as I felt my back crack. "I guess the ride made me a little stiff." He began rubbing my lower back for me. It felt nice and instantly relaxed me. I let out a slight moan of pleasure. He stopped. "No. Don't stop," I pleaded. He continued to rub my back until I took his hands and placed them on my shoulders. He began to gently massage them. He was very good at this. "My turn," I said after a while.

I turned around and straddled him as I wrapped my tails around him and placed my hands on his shoulders. "Uhm, Ahri, I don't think -." He started to protest, but I put a finger over his lips. I blew him a kiss, and his eyes burned pink for a brief second. I continued to rub his shoulders as I slowly pushed him backwards. When he was laying down, I slid the top of my kimono down and placed his hands on my breasts. He immediately went to work squeezing them and rubbing his hands across them. I let out a very audible moan as he pinched my nipples. I undid his rob and slid my hand down his pants. I began rubbing up and down as he began moaning and shifting underneath me. He sat up and picked me up. He stood me up and fully removed my clothing. I returned the favor before pushing him back down and mounting him. I moved up and down as he held my hips. I became more and more excited when he suddenly stopped.

I looked down to see his eyes glowing a bright blue. He quickly grabbed me and flipped me around. He was now on top of me, and he was holding me down. I felt the life being drained out of me as his eyes burned brighter. "Eylic, stop!" I coughed out as I got weaker and weaker. I tried to struggle, but I was just too weak. Everything went dark.

I was woken up by Eylic shaking me awake. I had fallen asleep on his shoulder. I quickly jumped up and scooted away from him. "We're here," he said as he pointed ahead. "Are you alright? You were shifting around in your sleep." "I'm fine. Just a bad dream", I said to him. He had a worried look on his face. That dream didn't feel normal. It wasn't a regular nightmare. It worried me for some reason. I tried to shake the dream from my mind as the caravan came to a stop. Eylic and I hopped off the wagon and walked towards the dig site.

Malzahar was already there. That guy always creeped me out. He was standing in front of a large stone circle. The circle extended outwards about twenty feet. It had pulsing purple runes all around it. In the center, was a pedestal with several empty slots. The whole design seemed unsettling. I had a very bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I looked over nervously at Eylic. He was busy talking with Malzahar. Something was bothering me about that dream I had, and standing on this thing just made that feeling worse. I walked closer to the pedestal in the center. There were five empty oval slots. They had a strange pull to them as if they were waiting for something to be returned to them. This whole place made me feel uneasy.

Malzahar

"Hello Eylic. Took you guys long enough to get here." "Oh lay off me. You know traveling through that stupid marsh takes forever," he replied to me. "Well, looks like you got a nice new partner. Missing me yet," I said to him while giving him a slight punch in the arm. The fox girl was busy staring at the center of the device. I walked over to the first wagon in the caravan and began rummaging through it. Eylic walked over as well. "Looking for something specific?" he asked as I pulled out what I had been looking for. I pulled out a small package and unwrapped it. Inside was a small purple crystal in the shape of a square. "The institute has me researching this relic to determine exactly what it is. The carvings around it would suggest it is of void origin, but that is not exactly true. It was built by an ancient race as a great destructive weapon. That is all I have been able to decipher, but I believe that we will find more information below." "Bellow?" Eylic questioned with a confused look on his face. I walked over to the stone pedestal. "Excuse me," I said to the fox girl. She stepped to the side. I placed the crystal into a slot near the base of the pedestal. A large piece of the circle slid aside to reveal a stairway leading down into the darkness. "Follow me please," I said as I began to descend the stairway into the darkness. Eylic followed behind me. He grew a crystal that began pulsing a steady bright light. The way ahead of us became illuminated as we journeyed deeper down the spiraling stairs.

"That crystal that was brought on the caravan was a key to get down here. From what little information I managed to piece together from some books at the institute and from the writings on the surface of the relic, it is a weapon capable of using void energy to create a null zone very similar to the one I can create, but on a massive scale. The High Council has been in possession of that crystal for some time, but we had no idea what it was until recently. Now, it has lead us here," I gestured out in front of me as we came to the bottom of the stairway. It opened into a massive cavern containing a very ancient city. "Now let's see what we can find shall we?"

Eylic

Ahri and I followed behind Malzahar. She clung to my arm. I could tell she was a bit scared. I was slightly frightened too, but my curiosity far outweighed my fear. It was dead silent down here. No one had been here in a very long time. There were many buildings that showed some cracks and other signs of age, but overall, the city was in good condition. There was no sign of life though. No skeletal remains or anything. It looked like everyone simply vanished.

The city was laid out in a giant circle. We made our way to the center where a massive building stood. We climbed our way up the stairs and made it to the ancient stone doors. Malzahar pushed them open, and we made our way inside. "Could this be some kind of palace?" I questioned out loud. "That seems to be a good assumption," Malzahar said. He was standing by a large throne. A skeletal figure covered in gold sat in it. Several other skeletal bodies were also lying in front of the throne. "So there are some remains here after all." "Look at that," Ahri said as she pointed to some writing carved into the ground in front of the throne. I looked at it quizzically. I couldn't read what it said. "In case you are wondering, it says 'turn back. You will only find destruction'," Malzahar said to me. We walked past the skeletal king into the next room. Ahri was now holding onto my arm for dear life. "Everything is ok," I said to her as I patted her head. She relaxed her grip a bit. We both gasped as we entered the next room though.

The room was covered in murals, runes, and writings. A single skeletal figure was slumped against the wall. A chisel and, what I assumed to be, old paints sat next to him. Some of the images had been carved into the wall; others had been painted. Ahri stared at one of the walls before saying, "Eylic. Some of this writing looks like it was done-." "In blood," I finished her sentence. Some of the writing had been done in blood. The scary thing was that it still looked fresh. That just couldn't be possible. "Hmm. Interesting. This room tells the story of this city," Malzahar stated while staring at the wall to the left of the door we had come through.

"The entire land on the surface used to be unstable. Plains would burn, forests would flood, volcanoes would erupt, and everything alive would die. This city was built under ground as a way to survive. After many years, a group of people ventured to the surface. They found the land to be stable at last. They began exploring and expanding. They stretched all across Valoran. One day, they encountered Icathia. They wanted to absorb the city into its vastly growing empire, but the city refused to yield. They went to war with them for years and years, but they could never take the city. One by one, the cities of their empire were destroyed by Icathia. The king was desperate for a way to destroy his enemy when a group of outsiders came forward. These outsiders were known for having terrible nightmares and visions. They were not trusted by the general population, but they had a solution. The kind listened to them, and they instructed him how to build a weapon that could destroy Icathia for good. It was made using knowledge from their dreams: knowledge of the void. When the weapon was completed, it was fired, but it was done so at great cost. A fifth of the population in the city instantly vanished in screams of agony. Everyone else in the city felt that they had cracked open a door to a power they did not understand. Icathia now laid dead, but the barrier between this world and the void was weakened there. The entire city became plagued with nightmares. Not long after, there was a revolt. The king and all responsible for building the weapon were killed. They tried to destroy the weapon, but everything they tried would not work. They removed the five control gems and buried the weapon. The city was abandoned, and the citizens split into five groups. Each group carried one of the control gems. The writing in blood lists their locations. It will change whenever the location of a gem changes."

Malzahar finished his translation. A chill ran down my spine. He walked over to the blood writing and began to translate it. "The first gem is located somewhere in the Shadow Isles. The next one is in Piltover. There are also gems in Bilgewater, Icathia, and-." "Ionia," I finished. "Yes, but how could you read that?" Malzahar asked. "I don't know," I replied. I continued to say "I just sort of looked at it and knew…" Malzahar put his hand under his chin. "We should head back to the surface now. We have what we came for, and you need to get to work finding those gems," Malzahar stated. I nodded, and we began walking out. Ahri got a very nervous look before turning to us and saying "I know the institute told us to find as much information as we can on this weapon, but isn't looking for these gems a bad idea." I looked at her with a frown on her face. "That isn't our decision to make. The institute wants these gems found so that they can lock them away and protect them. Noxus probably has some knowledge of their existence now too, and it is better if we find them first." She gave me a frown back. She clearly didn't like my answer. She let out a sigh as we kept walking. I still have no idea how I managed to read any of that writing, but somehow I knew. Even when I couldn't read it in the throne room, it still looked mildly familiar to me. _Where have I seen that writing before?_ I thought to myself as we ascended the stairs.

When we exited the stairs, Malzahar removed the square crystal, and the entry slid shut behind us. We made our way over to several of the other archeologists to report our finding when I heard a sharp whistling sound. "Look out!" I cried as I pushed Ahri to the ground. An arrow landed right where she had been previously standing. Arrows hit the other archeologists. They fell to the ground. Another arrow was heading straight for us. I quickly erected a crystal shield over us that deflected the arrow away. Another arrow landed right next to us. It started to pulse red. It began pulsing faster and faster. I pulled Ahri up and ran with her behind one of the wagons. The arrow exploded and sent red energy fragments everywhere. Some of the fragments hit one of the bodies of the archeologists, and it crumbled into ash.

"You can come out of hiding now. I really would like to be as civilized as possible here mate," a voice from the other side of the wagon called out. I poked my head out to see a group of men on the hill overlooking the dig site. They were all wearing leather armor reinforced with plate, and had a wide variety of weapons. I recognized the insignia on the chest of the armor. They were called Ravak's Ravagers. I had heard about them from Warwick during an interview I had with him before my first pact. He occasionally did some work with them. Highly skilled and deadly mercenaries that were capable of operating in all sorts of environments, and they offered their skills to the highest bidder. Their leader was Ravak: A man with no loyalty to anything besides money. He was known for being cold and ruthless. He started out as a bounty hunter, but his definition of "alive" was just barely breathing. He was known for being cold, calculating, and brutal. He was wanted by every major city on Runeterra including Noxus.

Ravak continued on. "Now I'm quite sure you found some interesting stuff down in that hole, and my employer is paying me a great deal to get that information so you can either tell me how to get in there, and I can find it for myself, or you can tell me what it is you found. I will say that either way, this doesn't end well for you, but at least you know I'm honest." He waited another few seconds. "Now I'm trying to be reasonable here, but you brought this on yourselves. Get em boys." Five men began running down the hill with weapons in hand. A large crystal blade formed in my hand as I got ready for a fight. "You ready?" I asked Ahri as I looked over towards her. She nodded, and several orbs of fire appeared around her. I rounded the wagon and clashed blades with one of the mercenaries. Another one with a sword starting running towards me as well. The other three began running towards Ahri until Malzahar flashed in. One of them broke off towards him. The other two continued their charge on Ahri. _I hope we can make it through this. _Champions were just as vulnerable outside the institute. Summoners were supposed to protect them with their lives. A summoner, while highly valued, was much easier to replace than a champion. Summoners were required to give up their lives, if necessary, to protect a champion. Death outside the Fields of Justice was permanent.

Malzahar

All of the researchers and archeologists were now dead. I jumped into one of the wagons to see what it contained. I found several mana potions, and a few other objects I could use to temporarily enhance my abilities. I downed the mana potions. I noticed three off the thugs running towards Eylic's new companion. _Well why should she get all the fun? _I flashed beside the charging group of men. One of them broke off and headed towards me with a sword and knife in hand. "Aw! I only get to fight one of you idiots." I was slightly disappointed, but I readied myself for a fight.

I hurled several bolts of energy at him. He managed to dodge them. He was quite agile it seemed. He got in close and leaped forward at me. I removed the dagger from my belt and blocked his strike before kicking him back. "I usually prefer to fight at range if you don't mind," I said to him. He snarled before charging again. I infected his mind with images of terror. While clearly disturbed, he still continued forward. Clearly these men had extensive training to reduce mental attacks. I guess I was going to get to have some fun after all with only one of them.

I dodged strike after strike that he took at me. I blasted him back with another bolt of energy. This one was powerful enough to blast through his chest plate. He quickly removed it and threw it to the side. His chest was now seared a bright red. He growled again as he resumed his attack. I used my dagger to continue blocking his attacks. When I finally got an opening, I summoned a null zone beneath him. His movement slowed down, and his strength began to drain. He managed to roll out of the circle but not before I managed to land a blow with my dagger. He raised up his arm to block the attack. My blade firmly embedded itself into his right hand. He dropped the dagger he was holding in that hand and cried out in pain. I went to strike again, but he managed to block it with his sword. He got back up, and we continued to clash.

After a few minutes of fighting, I finally got the upper hand. He went to strike for my head, but I managed to block it. I slid my dagger down his blade and sliced open his right hand. He jumped back in pain as he tried to keep his grip on his sword. I took this time to unleash my full fury. I focused my mind, and a purple tether linked my mind to his. I filled his head with visions of horror, and I amplified the pain he was feeling in his hands. He continued to try and walk towards me. I focused more energy into him. He fell to his knees before standing back up and staggering towards me. "Hmm. Impressive, but let's see if you can withstand this!" I channeled even more energy through the tether. I showed him everything that was waiting for him in the void. He would also now feel the pain of every injury, every cut, every scrape, and every ache. They were all amplified a thousand times over. He fell to his knees again. His eyes and nose began to spout blood. After a few moor seconds, he fell over dead. A blank look of horror was on his face. "Well. One down and five to go." I began walking towards the man still standing at the top of the hill. He had his arms crossed as he looked down at me.

Eylic

The second man with a sword came running at me. I kicked the first man back just in time to block a blow meant for my legs. I constructed a second blade in my other hand. They both began circling around me. One stayed in front of me, and the other took up position behind me. I was in a tricky spot here. Suddenly, they both charged at me. One went high, and the other went low. I managed to block both of their strikes. I continued to block blow after blow as I looked for an opening. They were alternating between striking high and low. One struck high while the other struck low, but I could tell from the look on their face that they were more focused on me than each other. _If I can just slow one of them down for one strike…_

On the next strike, I blocked the low strike as normal, but for the high strike, I blocked his sword and then gave it a good push. This opened up his chest. I didn't have enough time to strike, so I delivered a quick kick. This caused him to stumble a bit. By the time he recovered, his partner had already struck low. They both struck high on the next attack. I blocked it as normal, but when they both struck low, I jumped up in the air. I shortened the length of one of my blades and gave it a toss. It struck one of the men right between the eyes. He crumpled and fell to the ground. I landed and blocked just in time to stop his partner from trying to lob my head off.

We went back to moving in a circle. As he passed his deceased comrade, he picked up his sword. I materialized another blade to replace the one that was now embedded in a man's skull. We went back to our furious clash. He was moving faster than before. He was clearly enraged at his friend's death. This made him both a bigger threat and an easier target. He was bound to mess up, but would it be before he managed to chop my head off?

Sparks now flew whenever his metal impacted my crystal. We continued to move in a circle as the sound of metal on crystal rang out. His eyes burned with hatred. I was getting very tired now. I had to think of something fast. He raised up both blades and brought them down parallel. _This is it! _I dropped the blade in my right hand and raised up my arm. Just before the blades made contact, my arm became encased in white crystal. It also grew around the tips of his swords. He could not pull them away. With my left arm, I pulled my crystalline blade back and drove it as hard as I could into his gut. There was no plate protecting where I struck, and the crystal easily ripped through the leather. The anger in his eyes was now replaced with shock. He fell over as a trail of blood began to run out of his mouth. I looked up to see Malzahar walking towards Ravak. I took off after him.

Ahri

One of the mercenaries ran off to confront Malzahar when he appeared. That left me with two of them to fight. I ran towards them. One of them let loose a barrage of arrows. The other readied the large hammer he was carrying. I dodged one of the arrows and hurled a fire ball at the second. It was instantly incinerated. I launched my other two spirit fires at the men. The one with the bow jumped to the side while the one with the hammer swung at it. The fire dissipated. I conjured my orb beside me as I came to a stop a few feet in front of them.

The archer readied another arrow and fired. I jumped out of the way, and it landed behind me, but I heard that pulsing sound again. I turned around to see the arrow glowing bright red before exploding. I quickly dashed further away to avoid it. I turned around just in time to see the man with the hammer attempt to bring it down on my head. I dashed around behind him and threw my orb. It struck him right in the back before coming back and hitting him in the chest. He was clearly in pain, but he wasn't out of the fight. The archer readied more arrows. He let loose three at once. I tried to avoid them, but one struck me in the shoulder. "Ow! Shit!" I cried out. The arrows were small and meant to cause pain more than anything else. I pulled it out and threw it to the ground as the wound began to bleed. The larger one with the hammer charged me from behind. I managed to jump out of the way just in time, but I lost my footing and fell down. He stood over me and brought his hammer up.

I turned around to face him with a slight smirk on my face. I blew a kiss towards him. My charm magic hit him, and he slowly lowered his hammer. He was shaking his head; he was clearly trying to resist my magic. I launched my orb forward, and it hit him in the chest again. I ran around him to avoid the archer who had let loose another arrow. The arrow struck the other man and embedded itself in his breastplate. The archer had a look of horror. The larger guy managed to shake himself out of my charm, and he turned to face me. I suddenly knew why the archer had that look on his face. The arrow began pulsing red. I ran as fast as I could. The man began to panic. He dropped his hammer and tried to remove the arrow from his armor, but it was too late. "Ahhhhh," he screamed right before the arrow exploded, and the man turned to ash.

The now frustrated archer grabbed another arrow from behind his back. I ran towards him as he let it loose. I tossed my orb forward, and it collided with the arrow. He let loose another and another. I deflected them all with my orb. He reached behind him again to grab another arrow, but he was out. The look of horror returned as I sent forward three large balls of fire towards him. He cried out as he burned. He writhed around in agony on the ground before finally succumbing. I waved my hand and the fire instantly went out. A charred corpse now laid in front of me. I looked up to see Malzahar and Eylic heading towards Ravak. I dashed forward to catch up with them.

We all got to Ravak at about the same time. He had taken out a cigarette and lit it. He blew a puff of smoke before turning to directly face us. "Well look what you did. Ya killed some of my best men. It is going to take me forever to find some decent replacements. You owe me quite an apology there mate," he said with a smirk on his face. "An apology!" I screamed. "You tried to kill us!" He turned to face me and smiled a cruel smile. "It is nothing personal love. It is just business, and my current business is killing you lot and getting whatever information you have on that thing for my client." Eylic folded his arms. "Who exactly is your client?" he asked in a very angry tone. "I'm afraid that I can't reveal my business to other people. Confidentiality is part of my policy," the mercenary retorted. "Then why does your client want information on this place?" Malzahar asked him. "I don't know. I just got paid to find out whatever I could about this place, kill anyone here, and secure it for my client," Ravak stated. "Well then. If you don't know anything else, you're not any more use to us alive," Malzahar said as he raised his hand. His voice and what he said gave me a chill. He fired a blast of void energy, but before it could find its mark, Ravak vanished. "Hahaha." His laugh echoed around us. "You'll be seeing me again," the voice said before fading away.

At that moment, a hextech vehicle rounded the corner. Several well-armed men got off the speeder, and it came to rest on the ground. "What is going on here?" One of the men asked. "We could not get into contact with any of the archeologists," another man said. "We were attacked. Someone hired Ravak's Ravagers to kill everyone at the site and secure it for some anonymous party," Eylic explained to the soldiers. One of the men went back to the speeder and picked up a communicator and began talking into it. "Right then. We'll get you to the base came so that you can get some rest for the night. From now on this area is going to be under 24 hour guard. No exceptions. I don't care what you or the High Council says," the first soldier said while looking at Malzahar. "If that is what you think is best," the prophet replied. We followed the soldier back to the speeder as two others rounded the corner. Several men with supplies got off and began setting up a perimeter around the weapons.

The camp was not far from the dig site, but it was still far enough for Ravak to have caught us by surprise without us having any support. There were several tents and cabins set up, and soldiers and archeologists were everywhere. We explained the events of the day to several people at the base before finally getting to eat. After dinner, Eylic and I were guided to one of the cabin structures. We had already talked more with Malzahar. He would be staying with the dig team for the time being. Eylic and I would start heading towards the Shadow Isles tomorrow to find the first gem. I still felt that it was a bad idea, but Eylic said that it was our duty as long as we were with the institute. "Finding them could prevent a war," he said. "Here we are. You will be staying here tonight. Tomorrow, someone will take you down the Serpentine River until you get to the port. From there, you can head to the Shadow Isles," the soldier guiding us said. Eylic thanked him and said good night. Eylic worked on getting the key to unlock the cabin door. "There is only the main room and a bathroom. There is also only one bed, so I'll take the floor. I'll also sleep facing the wall if you are going to be sleeping in the nude again," Eylic said as he unlocked the door and stepped inside. When I walked in, I froze in place. This room was exactly the same as the one from my nightmare earlier. "Is something wrong?" Eylic questioned. "No. Nothing is wrong," I replied. "You don't have to face the wall either. I'll sleep in this tonight." I made my way over to the bed and laid down. I didn't get any sleep that night though.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: Welcome to chapter 7. I am currently on summer break right now from college. Story parts will be coming at a regular pace while I am on break. I will try to always get a chapter out on the weekend, but there may be other days that I get a chapter done.

The next two parts won't be having as much action in them. They will mainly serve as a way for our two main characters to have more time to get to know each other.

Chapter 7 – River of Memories

Eylic

I was woken up in the morning by a knock at the door. I got up from my place on the floor and stretched. "Ouch. Sleeping on the floor did not favor my back." I looked over to see Ahri lying on her bed looking up at me. _I wonder if she got any sleep last night. It looked like something was bothering her most of yesterday. _"Good morning," I said to her while I walked towards the door. She gave a slight smile before sitting up and stretching. I opened the door to see a young soldier standing there. "Good morning summoner. We leave today for the port at Freljord by way of the Serpentine River," the young soldier said. "Right. We'll meet you at the boat in a few minutes," I replied to him. He nodded before turning around and walking away. I went to the bathroom and splashed some water on my face. I came out and saw Ahri standing by the door. "You ready?" she asked. I nodded and grabbed my pack. We headed out the door.

It took us a few minutes to get to the dock in the camp. The soldier from before was waiting there. We stepped onto the small boat. The soldier stepped in after, and he started up the engine. We began our journey down the twisting river. It would take us a while to arrive at Freljord. The day was looking to be pretty uneventful. Ahri was looking exhausted. "You didn't sleep last night did you?" I asked her. She avoided looking at me. I sighed. "Lie down and try to get some sleep. It is going to take us a while to get there, and I need you to be rested if we get into trouble." She gave in and laid down on the bench. She fell asleep quickly. When she was fully asleep, I moved closer to her and put her head in my lap. I looked down at her and gently rubbed her head and ears. She looked very beautiful and peaceful. The boat continued down the river at a steady pace.

Ahri

I found myself back in the forests of Ionia. I was a fox again, and I was running as fast as I could. _What am I running from? Is this a dream? _Two hunters and their dog suddenly appeared behind me. Now I remembered why I was running. I pushed my body as hard as I could. I went as fast as my fox legs would take me. I weaved between trees and darted underneath bushes to try and lose them. They were getting closer, and there was nothing I could do to get rid of them. _How long can I avoid them, _I continued to think to myself. I saw a thick tree line up ahead. I sprinted towards it. I might be able to lose them if I can get through there.

I burst through the tree line and ran right into another person. I fell down hard. I staggered to get up. I looked up to see a young boy with black hair and blue eyes getting back up. He walked towards me. I was still struggling to get up. I had hurt one of my legs in the fall. He continued to come closer to me. I growled at him as he reached out towards me. I opened my mouth to bite his hand as it got closer, but then he did something I didn't expect. He patted my head and then picked me up off the ground and held me in his arms. A few moments later, the two hunters burst through the tree line.

"Alright boy. We've been hunting that fox all day so please hand her over," the first hunter said. "I think it will look good mounted over the fireplace," the second hunter said to the first. The dog continued to growl at me. I looked up from the boy's arms at his face. A sad look of defeat was in my eyes. He looked down at me and smiled before patting my head. He looked up towards the hunters and said, "Sorry fellas. This fox here is my pet. I've been looking for her for a while. It is actually why I was out here. I can't give her to you, but I can give you a reward for your trouble." An angry look came over the hunters' faces. "Your pet huh. What's its name then, boy?" the first hunter questioned the young boy. "Well **HER **name is Ahri," the young man replied without missing a beat. _Ahri? That's a pretty name, _I thought to myself. "Why you little-," the second hunter began. He started towards the boy with his fist raised, but he was stopped by the first hunter. "Stop right there," the first hunter said to his partner. "You know who his parents are. If we hurt him, there will be hell to pay," the man continued. The second man relaxed his fist and stepped back. The boy pulled a small bag out of his pocket. He pulled several coins from it and tossed them to the first man. "Thanks again for finding her," the boy said with a devious smile on his face. The first hunter caught the money. They turned to leave and walked off.

The boy sat me back down on the ground and patted my head. You're free to go little one. I looked up at him. I couldn't help but wonder why it was he helped me. Was that what it meant to be human? I wanted to be human for as long as I could remember, but that was a dream I would never be able to achieve.

Everything around me suddenly went dark. The world around me began to change. I remembered this day. This was the day I became human. Noxus had tried to invade Ionia. Ionian and Demacian soldiers managed to repel the attack. I cautiously walked onto the battlefield. I found a man in a robe. He was near death. I walked closer towards him. He looked up at me as I got closer and smiled. He stretched out his hand and touched my nose. I suddenly felt lightheaded. My body felt different. I reached out towards the man who was now lying face down in the dirt. When I reached out towards him, I immediately noticed something different. A long, slender arm reached out towards the man. I pulled it back and looked down. I was no longer a fox. "I'm human!" I said out loud in surprise.

There was a large water puddle on the ground nearby. I stumbled towards it. I didn't quite know how to walk on two legs. I looked down at the puddle. I saw myself in its reflection. I had a slender body with large breasts and long black hair. I was overjoyed. I was finally human. A slight frown came across my face as I took a second look. I had several marks on my face where my whiskers had been. I still had my fox ears on top of my head, and I could now feel my nine tails flowing behind me. _This isn't quite what I wished for, but it is a start. _I stood back up and tried to practice walking. I used my tails to balance myself. When I got the hang of it, I tried running. After I managed to do that, I made my way towards the nearest town.

I got to town and stayed hidden. I needed to find clothes. Now that I was human, I couldn't walk around naked. I found a house that did not have anyone home. I slipped into it and looked around. I found an outfit that I liked: a red and white kimono. I put it on then slipped back out of the house. My stomach began to growl. I would need to find food. I still felt weak from my transformation. I walked back into the street. One of the first things I noticed was the amount of looks I was getting from people. I continued to walk down the street until I became too weak to stand. I stumbled and fell against a wall. A young man came running towards me. He put his arm around me to steady me. "Hi there. I haven't seen you around before. What is your name?" the man asked. "My name is uhm… Ahri," I replied. He was a nice young man. He took me in and fed me. He was the first person to take care of me after my transformation. He was also the first person I killed.

_No! I don't want to see that. I don't want to see the first time I killed someone. _Everything around me went black again. I was in a blank, empty void, and I was a fox again. The young boy from before now stood in front of me. I walked towards him, and he picked me up. As he drew me closer to himself, he became older. He got taller, his hair became longer, and the tips of his hair became an icy blue color. It was Eylic! He brought me in closer and embraced me. I was no longer a fox. I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him back. _Is this just a dream, or is Eylic really the same boy who named me? _He moved closer to my face and kissed me.

I woke up. My head was lying in Eylic's lap. He looked down at me and smiled. I blushed and smiled back. _Was that just a dream, _I wondered to myself. "Hey Eylic. I have something I want to ask you about," I said to him. "Sure. What is it?" he replied. I thought to myself about how exactly I should ask him. I gave up. "Never mind. It isn't important right now," I finally said. I closed my eyes and went back to sleep as Eylic stroked my ears. It was a nice feeling.

Eylic

Ahri had briefly woken up from her nap. She said she wanted to ask me something but changed her mind. I wondered what exactly it could have been she wanted to ask. She quickly went back to sleep soon after though. We had been traveling on the river for several hours now. The sun was starting to set. "How long until we get to the city?" I asked our navigator. "It should only be another hour or so. I want to be careful around here though. There have been sightings of some strong creatures around here," the soldier replied.

No sooner did he finish talking, did a large crystal claw reach out from the bank and drag the soldier away. "Ahri. Get up. We've got trouble." I shook her awake, and she jumped up. A large scorpion figure was running alongside the boat. I grabbed the rudder and steered the boat towards the river bank. I cut off the engine and jumped off towards the scorpion. Ahri followed behind me. I formed a crystal sword in my hand and stabbed it into the claw of the creature. It released the soldier. He landed on the ground and grabbed his own sword out from its sheath. The sword glowed green. "A Noxian rune blade!" I said in surprise. "A little souvenir from a battle I had," the soldier replied as he readied his weapon.

"Looks like I'm eating well tonight," the scorpion said as it raised its stinger up. I recognized the scorpion as Skarner. He was one of the champions in the League of Legends. When he wasn't fighting, he freely wandered the area of the Serpentine River lately. He hadn't been bound to anyone during the last ceremony so he was free to wander around without any obligation to the League. If he died out here, he would be dead for good. "Hey Ahri. Do you think the institute will get mad at us for killing him?" I sarcastically asked her. "Well he really isn't giving us much choice," she replied back with a smirk. "Let's just kill it already," the soldier interjected.

Skarner lunged his stinger forward at the three of us. We all jumped out of the way as his stinger impacted the ground. "Raaaah!" Skarner roared as he pulled back his stinger. He turned and managed to strike me with one of his claws. I managed to form a crystal shield in front of myself that absorbed most of the impact, but the hit still sent me reeling across the ground. He began charging towards me at a very fast pace. Ahri stepped in front of me and threw several fire balls at the scorpion. He stopped and raised up his claws to cover his face. She pulled me up and dashed to the side. The sudden jerk felt like it was going to yank my arm out of its socket. I recovered and reformed my crystal sword. He began charging at the two of us, but the young soldier jumped on top of his back. He raised up his sword and stabbed the creature in the back. Skarner yelled out in pain. "You'll pay for that you useless insect," he said as he swiped his tail at the soldier. At the same time, Skarner encased his body in a hard crystal shell. The soldier's sword became stuck in the creature, and he had to jump off without it.

The soldier landed hard on the ground. He got back up and pulled out a dagger he had strapped around his ankle. He jumped to the side again as Skarner shot forward his stinger at him. Ahri leaped forward at the creature. She shot off more fireballs before firing her orb forward. It caused him some visible pain, but he continued forward. She dashed to the side and fired a bolt of spirit energy. Skarner became enraged and charged towards her. "I'm going to snap that pretty little head off your shoulders," he roared. Ahri dashed to the side again and fired another bolt of energy. I ran forward and jumped towards the beast. I formed a large crystal shield and landed right on the young soldier's sword. The rune blade sank deeper into the creature. He lost his concentration, and his crystal armor shattered. I yanked the sword out of his carapace and sung it around. His stinger went flying as it was separated from his body.

"Aghhh. You insects!" Skarner cried out in pain. I jumped off of the creature as he began to violently flail about. I tossed the rune blade back towards the soldier. He caught it and sheathed it. Ahri hurled another ball of fire at the creature as he began running away into the brush. "Well. We didn't kill him," she said with a laugh.

We made our way back to the boat. The soldier started up the engine, and we went back to traveling down the river. The weather began to grow colder as we neared our destination. After another hour we had finally arrived. "Here is where we part ways. Head down this path, and you will arrive at the port for Freljord," the young soldier said as he turned the boat around to head back. I nodded as Ahri and I began walking down the path. After a few minutes, we saw a figure up ahead. I recognized the figure as Ashe. Her summoner was also beside her. "Welcome to the land of Freljord. The institute informed us that you would be coming. We are preparing a ship for you that will be ready to leave in a few days as soon as the weather clears up," Ashe said to us. "Hi Eylic. Nice to see you again," her summoner replied with a smile. I had seen her around the institute before. She was pretty nice. "Please follow us and we'll take you to where you will be staying," she continued.

We followed them to a large inn in the port city. Ashe waved to the person working at the front desk. He gave a slight bow as we walked past. We finally stopped at a room on the third floor. Ashe opened the door and led us inside. "Here is where you will be staying while you are here. Someone will inform you when the ship is ready to go. I do apologize that you will be delayed in your journey, but there is a large storm off the coast that has not subsided. As soon as it is gone, you may make for the Shadow Isles," Ashe said as she handed us two keys to the room. I thanked her as her and her summoner turned towards the door and left.

Ahri

The room we had been given was huge. There were two huge beds, a kitchen, a dining room, and a huge bathroom. It was one of the nicest places I had ever stayed in besides Eylic's house. I flopped down on one of the beds and let out a sigh. "Ah. It feels nice to relax now," I said as I rolled around on the bed. Eylic sat beside me and picked up a menu on the table beside me. "How about we get some food," he said as he began flipping through the menu. I sat up and looked through it with him. We both settled on what we wanted and ordered our dinner. They said it would be ready soon. I took the time to shower. When I was finished, I wrapped myself in one of the robes in the closet. I came out to find Eylic writing down some things in a journal he had with him.

_I have to ask him, _I thought to myself as I walked over towards him. "Uhm. Eylic… Remember before when I said I wanted to ask you something," I said tentatively. He nodded, and I continued. "When you were a boy, did you ever rescue a fox from some hunters?" He looked up at me. "Oh yeah. I had forgotten about that. Gosh it was so long ago. I saved a fox from some hunters by saying she was my pet. I said her name was -." He stopped in the middle of his sentence.

A large smile came across my face, and my eyes began to water. I sat in Eylic's lap and wrapped my arms around him. I began to cry into his shoulder. He put his hand on my head and began patting my head. He wrapped his other arm around me. "So that day… It was you then," he finally said. I pulled my face away from his shoulder. He was smiling at me. "You should stop crying though. Our food is about to get here." Just then there was a knock at the door. I got off his lap, and he stood up. He patted my head one more time and gave me a kiss on the forehead. He turned towards the door, and I began to blush. He opened the door, and several servants came in with a cart of food and a bottle of wine. We both ate our food and drank the wine.

Once our food was gone, Eylic rang down to the front desk. A few minutes later, several servants returned to collect the cart and dishes. I sat back down on my bed and stretched. "Well. Time for bed. I guess we get a few days to rest before things start getting hectic again," I said as I stretched. Eylic laid down in the other bed. Once I finished stretching, I removed my robe and hung it over a nearby chair. Eylic looked over at me and then quickly averted his gaze. He was clearly blushing. "Uhm… Arhi. You're naked again." I turned out the light and giggled before climbing back into bed. "This is how I sleep. If it bothers you then you're just going to have to not look," I said. Even though the room was now dark, I still stuck my tongue out at him. I wondered if he saw it because next thing I knew, there was a pillow hurling towards my face. It hit me head on. I removed it from my face and said with a laugh "You're not getting that back." Eylic laughed before turning over so he wasn't facing me and went to sleep. I drifted to sleep soon after with a smile on my face.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: I was slightly drunk while writing the first part of this. We will see if this is a good or bad thing for my creativity. This chapter took longer than I wanted to because I have several projects I am working on right now. I will also try to have chapter 9 out soon. Chapter 9 will feature sexual content. It will mainly be a bit of a filler chapter for our heroes as they journey towards the Shadow Isles. Chapter 10 will find our heroes arriving on the island.

Chapter 8 – The Ice Witch

Ahri

"Ahri, it is time to get up. You can't get used to sleeping in so late." I opened my eyes and rolled over to see Eylic looking down on me. The storm off the coast still had not subsided, so we had spent the last few days in the town. "Okay. I'll get up now," I said as I sat up and stretched. Eylic blushed slightly and looked away as the covers fell off of me and exposed my breasts. "Oh is there something wrong with the view?" I teased him as I got out of bed. My tails lightly slapped him across the face as I turned and walked towards the bathroom. I got inside and closed the door.

I filled up the tub and sat in it to soak and relax. _I shouldn't stay in here too long or Eylic is going to think I fell asleep again and get mad at me. _I scrubbed myself off and then sat for a bit in the steaming water. I thought about our last few days together. We had spent most of our time in the hotel room while we waited for the storm to pass. Mainly we talked about home. Eylic told me what it was like growing up in a wealthy mage family in Ionia. He told me that the day he found me in the forest, he was looking for a place to practice some of his magic.

I told him as much as I could remember about being a fox. My memory of those days was sometimes spotty, and the memories didn't always feel like they were my own. I guess it had to do with the fact that I was so different now from when those events had happened. I had completely forgotten about the day he had found me and named me until I had that dream. The clearest memory I had was the day I turned human. I told him about the battlefield, and the man who touched my nose and changed me, but I didn't tell him anything about the first man who took care of me: the first man I killed. I didn't tell him about any of my victims. He knew that I had killed people in the past while being… intimate with them. Everyone who had heard about me knew about that part of my life, but no one knew the details of my victims, and I wanted to keep it that way. I wanted to keep that out of my mind as much as I could.

I took a deep sigh. The water in the bath had started to cool down a bit. I finished cleaning myself off before drying off and getting dressed. I stepped out of the bathroom, and I was surprised to see that Eylic wasn't there. I walked over to the table in the center of the room where a note sat on it.

**Ahri,**

**I stepped out to get some breakfast for us so we aren't eating the same thing from the inn again. I'll be back soon.**

**-Eylic**

I set the note back down on the table and took a seat on my bed. I grabbed a brush from the stand by my bed and ran it through my hair several times. I then heard a knock at the door. I skipped over to it and peered through the peephole in the door. "That's surprising," I said to myself before opening the door. Ashe and her summoner were standing on the other side of it. "Hello Ahri," Ashe greeted. "Hi," I replied back. "Would you like to come in?" I asked. "No thanks. I am here to speak to Eylic. I have some information for him about the storm," Ashe said with a serious look on her face. "Oh he isn't here right now, but he'll be back soon" I replied back to her. Ashe and her summoner both looked at each other with a concerned look on their faces. "Very well. I shall return later. Please tell him to expect me later, and that it is urgent," she said before walking off towards the stairs. I closed the door and sat back down on the bed. _I wonder what that was all about._

Eylic returned about 15 minutes later. He had a few bags in his hands filled with various ingredients. He set them down next to the stove in the kitchen area and began cooking. "Ashe came by before. She said that she would return later, and it is urgent that she talk with you," I said to him. "Oh? Alright. Thanks Ahri," he replied before returning his attention to the food he was preparing. Several minutes later, he set down two plates of eggs, bacon, toast, and orange juice. "Thank you," I said before digging into the food.

It didn't take me long for me to finish my food. I was pretty hungry this morning, and it was delicious. "Haha. I guess it was good," Eylic said as he collected my plate. He had finished as well. He picked up the plates and placed them in the sink before returning to his seat and sipping his orange juice. "So have you been sleeping well the last few night?" he suddenly asked me. His question took me by surprise. I thought about it for a second before saying, "yes, why do you ask?" I had actually been sleeping well. I hadn't had any nightmares the past few nights. "Oh no reason. You just haven't been mumbling in your sleep lately. You've looked quite peaceful in your sleep… er not that I watch you sleep. I just looked over one night when I hadn't gotten to sleep yet and noticed," he sputtered out before looking to the side. I laughed slightly and walked over to him. I wrapped my arms around him and gave him a hug. He patted my head like he always did when we heard a knock at the door. "I guess that would be Ashe," he said as he walked towards the door.

Eylic opened the door. Sure enough, Ashe was standing there. Her summoner was absent this time. "Greetings Ashe. Come on in," Eylic said to her. She walked in as Eylic closed the door behind her. Ashe took a seat on the couch facing the table Eylic and I had been sitting at. Eylic sat back down in his chair. Ashe cleared her throat and began to speak. "I wanted to see you to tell you some important information regarding the storm off the coast. As you may have noticed, it has not subsided, and it does not look like it will any time soon." "You didn't come over here to give a weather report though," Eylic said with a serious look on his face. "That is correct," Ashe replied. She continued on. "The storm is not a naturally occurring one. It is the result of some strong magic. My summoner Yasha and I have managed to track down the source. The storm is being created and maintained by the ice witch Lissandra." "I see," Eylic said.

Lissandra was another champion of the League of Legends. Quite frankly, she frightened me. I knew that she wanted to freeze the world over and bring about some new rule, but why was she trying to stop us from leaving? She couldn't know about or assignment could she? She had not participated as a champion in a long time. No one had been labeled as compatible with her. She was known to live in this area, and now she was up to something. Ashe stood up from the couch and continued to speak. "We are not sure what she is up to, but she needs to be stopped. Yasha has located a cave in the mountains that she had been hiding in. You will meet her at the base of the mountain, and she will lead you there. Once you have dealt with her, you should be able to continue your mission." Ashe handed Eylic a piece of paper and then left the room. Eylic folded his hands in front of his face. He looked like he was thinking hard. "What could she be planning, and what does she know?" he said out loud.

Eylic

I grabbed the winter coat that I had been provided and put it on. Ahri got up from her seat at the table and stretched. From the looks of it, it looked like she would be traveling in her usual attire. "You're going to freeze to death," I said to her. "Oh I don't get cold," she replied with a laugh. I rolled my eyes as I headed for the door. She followed right behind me.

We walked out of the port town and followed the directions Ashe had given us. We followed the path for a long while before coming to the base of the mountain we would be traveling up. Yasha was there waiting for us. "Hi Yasha. Nice to see you again," I said to her. She smiled back before saying, "Hi Eylic. I hope your new partner and you are doing well. I am surprised she is not freezing though." The both of us laughed. Ahri just rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't get cold," she repeated. "Anyway," Yasha continued. "Lissandra's cave is near the top of this mountain. Thankfully there is a path all the way up so we will not have to do any climbing. Just be sure to watch out for any traps or other surprises. She is very dangerous." I nodded my head to show that I understood, and we began our assent.

We must have been walking for hours. It got colder and colder as we went up the path. I shivered slightly even with my heavy coat. I looked over at Ahri. She had her arms crossed, but she did not appear to be shivering. I placed a hand on her shoulder. "How are you still so warm?" I asked in surprise. She was still very warm to the touch even in this cold. "Perks of being part fox I guess," she replied as she stuck her tongue out at me. I bent down and picked up some snow and formed it into a ball. I threw it at her, and it hit her right in the back. She turned around and scowled at me before making her own snow ball and hitting me right in the face. We both laughed a bit. Yasha sighed. We stopped goofing off and continued up the mountain.

After a while longer, the path ended. In front of us was a massive opening to a cave. "Alright. Be careful now," Yasha said in a very serious tone. It was clear that we had arrived. We stepped inside and continued down into the cave. There was black ice everywhere, and it was even colder inside the cave. The end of the cave opened up into a large, circular cavern. A figure was standing in the center of the cavern. It was staring into a glowing orb on a pedestal. "So you finally figured out that the storm was my doing," the figure said in an eerie feminine voice. She turned around to face us. It was Lissandra. "I cannot allow you to accomplish your mission, and now that you are here, I get to kill you myself. The tunnel behind us suddenly filled up with ice: blocking any escape. The room began to fill will pillars of ice. I jumped back as one sprang up right in front of me. Another pillar came down from the ceiling and hit Yasha in the head. I ran over to her and felt for a pulse. She was breathing, but she was unconscious. Lissandra laughed manically. Something told me this fight wasn't going to be easy. "Ahri. Be careful," I said to her as I stood up and constructed a sword in my hand. Ahri summoned her orb, and several balls of fire also appeared around her. We were both ready for a fight.

Lissandra's ice pillars threw her reflection everywhere. I couldn't be sure which one was her. She laughed as she moved about the cave. Shards of ice were hurled at the both of us. I jumped out of the way to dodge it. Ahri threw one of her fire balls at the ice shard heading for her. It sizzled and melted. More shards of ice were thrown at the both of us. We both frantically dodged the attacks. Ice shards were coming from every direction. _How can she attack so fast? _ Just then, a large, icy hand raced towards me. I prepared to jump out of the way, but before it could reach me, Lissandra sprung up from the icy hand. I was taken by surprise as she raced towards me with a sharp spear of ice. There was not enough time to dodge. The icy spear slammed into me. "Eylic!" I heard Ahri cry.

I managed to encase my chest in crystal just before the shard hit me. I was going to be alright, but the force of the blow was still enough to knock the wind out of me. I jumped back and coughed. Ahri charged forward and flung her orb towards Lissandra. The witch tried to move out of the way, but she was too late. The orb struck her. The ice witch cried out in pain and frustration. She threw another ice claw and vanished back behind the circle of ice mirrors. "Are you alright?" Ahri asked me as she helped me back to my feet. "I'll be fine," I said reassuringly to her. "You will both perish!" Lissandra screeched. Several of the ice mirrors around us shattered. The fragments hurled towards us at rapid speed. "Hold on to me tightly right now," Ahri yelled. "What? I asked." "Just do it quickly," she shouted at me. I did what she said. I wrapped my arms around her tightly. Blue flames engulfed the both of us. All of the ice melted before it could get through to us. "Thanks," I said to her. "Well I had to think of some excuse to get you to hug me," she replied with a giggle. The fire around us died down. She looked exhausted. Expanding it that far must have burned up a lot of her mana.

A large shard of black ice raced towards Ahri. I quickly got in front of her and constructed a crystal wall. The ice shattered on contact. "Let's try something," I said to myself. I shattered the crystal wall in front of me and sent the shards flying in the direction of the black ice. I heard a cry of pain. Another ice claw came forward. I jumped out of the way of it. Lissandra was now behind me. She threw another shard of ice at me. I tried to turn around, but I knew I wasn't going to be able to avoid it. Another fire ball hit the ice, and it vanished before it could strike me. I looked over to see Ahri panting. She hurled fire ball after fire ball at Lissandra. The witch was pushed backwards with each blow. She let out more screams of agony as she became engulfed in flames. She was now up against the wall. I created a crystal spear in my hand and threw it. The screaming suddenly stopped as she was impaled against the wall. She coughed up blood. "This wasn't supposed to happen. He promised me my dream. Stopping you should have been easy. Your journey is only going to *cough* get more difficult from here," Lissandra hissed.

The ice witch's head fell and her body went limp. The black ice all around us shattered, the mirrors cracked and fell to pieces, and the orb on the pedestal exploded. The cave became slightly warmer. I went over to Ahri and held her up. She looked like she was about to collapse. "I'll be fine," she said to me. "Hey you did a good job. Just let me help you down the path. Take it easy now." Ahri looked up at me and sighed. "What do you think she was talking about?" she asked. "I have no idea," I replied. Yasha began to regain consciousness. "What happened?" she asked. "You were knocked unconscious by one of Lissandra's first attacks. We dealt with her though," I told her. She looked up and saw Lissandra's corpse pinned to the wall. "I see. Then our mission is complete. Let's leave this place," she said as she got to her feet.

We began walking out of the cave. When we were outside again, we could see in the distance that the storm over the water was clearing up. My guess was that that orb in the cave allowed her to control it. With the witch dead, her magic was broken. Yasha walked in front of us as we headed back down the mountain path. She was clearly frustrated about having been knocked out during the fight. I held Ahri's arm over my shoulder as we walked down the path. She looked exhausted, and she was shivering now. We got back down from the mountain path and said goodbye to Yasha. She departed off in the opposite direction, and we headed back towards the inn.

When we got back inside, I took off my jacket and piled some logs into the fireplace. Ahri was lying on her bed. I conjured a small fire in my hand and lit the logs. I went to the kitchen area and made some hot tea. I poured two cups. I gave one to Ahri and took the other to my bed. I took a sip before placing the cup on the table next to me. I gazed into the fire when suddenly, I felt something warm against me. Ahri had crawled into bed next to me. "Ahri. Your bed is over there," I said to her as I pointed over to her now vacant bed. "But I'm cold, and that fight today wore me out," she pouted. I sighed and looked at her. "Fine, but only if you keep your clothes on," I said to her. "No promises," she replied in a flirty tone. I placed my arm around her, and she placed her head on my chest and wrapped her tails around the both of us.

We had a big day ahead of ourselves tomorrow. We would be setting sail in the morning for the Shadow Isles. It would take us several days to reach the island though. I wasn't a big fan of boats. They were too slow for my liking. "What are you thinking about?" Ahri asked me as she prodded at my side. "Just thinking about the start of our boat ride tomorrow. I can't say I'm a fan of them," I said. "Me either," she said in agreement. "I get a bit seasick," she added. I laughed a bit at her. She kicked me. "Ouch. Well, rest up. You exhausted yourself today, and we have to be up early tomorrow," I said to her. I turned out the light next to me. The room was now only lit by the dancing flames in the fireplace. Ahri quickly drifted off to sleep. I patted her head before falling asleep myself.

Unknown

"So they defeated my mercenaries and the ice witch. They are turning out to be a bigger pain than I expected." I paced about my room. I had to do something to stop them. I couldn't let Demacia's lap dog get those crystals to the weapon. They belonged to Noxus, and I was going to do everything I could to make sure that I got those crystals. Demacia's days were numbered.


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note: This chapter will feature sexual content. Our two main characters are going to have some alone time on a small ship in the middle of the ocean. They are going to be stuck on it for a few days after all.

Chapter 9 – Boat Trip

Eylic

I heard the sound of hacking and coughing behind me. Ahri threw up over the railing of the ship. We had been traveling a few days on the boat now, and it did not agree with her. She was given some medicine by one of the crew members, but she was told that it could take a few days to fully work. I walked over to her and laughed a bit. She stuck her fist out and hit me square in the chest. "Oof," I said as her fist impacted me. She gave me a stern look. "I guess I deserved that," I said. She rolled her eyes and went below deck. Several of the officers on the deck looked over and laughed. "Girl troubles there young summoner?" the captain of the ship jokingly asked. I shrugged my shoulders and went below deck.

I saw Ahri head towards our room. I decided to let her rest in peace. She hadn't slept well the past few nights due to her seasickness. It was getting better though. She managed to eat a little bit last night and threw up less than the night before. _Maybe that medicine was finally working for her._ I made my way to the cargo hold of the ship. The ship was transferring some goods to the Shadow Isles. Ashe said that we were free to take whatever would help us. I looked through the various containers. There were weapons, potions, dried food, spices, and many other things. I packed a bag with potions, dried food rations, and some climbing gears. I also took some extra water skins.

I went to the room to place the bags down inside for later. I quietly opened the door and peered in. The room was dark, and I couldn't quite see inside. I walking in and gently closed the door behind me. I waited for my eyes to adjust to the dim light. Due to the limited space on the ship, each room was rather small and only contained one bed. We had just decided to share under the condition that she stay clothed. After a little bit of waiting I could finally see. I made my way to the corner of the room and placed the bags near the single chair that was in the room. I turned to head back out when I heard rustling to the side of me.

I looked over to see Ahri rolling over in the bed. She was of course naked right now. I looked away from her and laughed slightly. "Sweet dreams," I said in a very quiet tone as I walked towards the door. "Wait a sec," I heard from behind me. Ahri was awake now. "Yes?" I asked her. "This boat ride has made me a little stiff, and you owe me for laughing at me before. Would you mind giving me a back rub?" she asked in an innocent tone. I took my hand off of the door knob and sighed. "Alright, but you're going to have to cover yourself first," I said to her. "Hmph. You're no fun," she replied in an indignant tone. I heard the sound of a sheet moving behind me. I turned around to see her with her chin resting on one of the pillows and the blanket covering her butt. I walked over to her and sat down on the bed.

I placed my hands on her back. She yipped a bit and squirmed. "Agh. Your hands are cold!" she exclaimed. I sighed and conjured a small fire in my hands for a few seconds. I let the fire fade before placing my hands on her back again. "Ah. That's better," she sighed. I began massaging her back. Her tails began moving beneath the blanket as she wagged them in happiness. The blanket fell from her and exposed her ass. "Oops. Well don't stop now," she said and then let out a slight laugh. I sighed again and continued to rub her back. I moved to her neck and her shoulders next. She did have some tension in them. I guess the fight from the other day and the seasickness had exhausted her. "You must be feeling better now. I guess that medicine is finally working," I said to her. "Mhm," she sighed happily as I continued her massage. Her tails were swinging all about now. "Lower please," she said to me. I moved my hands down to her lower back and began to rub it. I continued for a while before I finished.

Once I was done, I stood up. "I'll let you get back to sleep," I said to her as I got up. "I'm not done with you yet," I heard from behind me as I felt a hand on my wrist and several white tails wrapped around me. "Agh!" I cried as I got pulled into the bed with her. "Uhm. Ahri, can you please let me go. You're naked!" I exclaimed. "And you're observant," she replied in a flirty tone. She had me pressed up against her warm, naked body. I found myself face to face with her. She leaned forward and kissed me. I pulled away from her and managed to jump up. Her face turned red and she looked away. "What's the matter? Did I do something wrong?" she asked in a sad tone. "No, no, no," I said. "It's just… just." I was stammering now. I took a breath and composed myself. A smile came across my face. "It's just I hope you brushed your teeth after your incident before." A frown came over her face. She picked up a pillow and threw it at me. It hit me right in the face. "I did as soon as I got down here, and also you're a jerk," she said. I sat back down next to her and put her in a headlock as I patted her head. "Haha. I'm sorry. I just wasn't expecting that," I said to her. She wrestled away from me and then punched me in the shoulder. I held it for a bit and rubbed it.

We sat next to each other in silence for a bit. Neither one of us looked at the other for a long while. Finally, I placed my arm around her waist and pulled her close. I kissed her back. At first she was surprised, but soon she began to kiss me back. Her tails fluttered around us as we continued to kiss. "Was that better?" I asked with a smirk as we pulled away. She blushed and nodded her head.

Ahri

My face returned back to its normal color, and a smirk came across my face. "You're still not done with my massage yet," I said to him as I grabbed his hands and placed them on my breasts. Now his face was the one to turn red. After a bit, a smile came over his face as he began groping at my breasts. He moved his hands around them and squeezed them. I stretched my arms behind my head and arched my back. A small moan escaped my lips. He moved his hands to my nipples and pinched them. I moaned louder. My tails stretched outwards. I wrapped them around him again.

I grabbed his right hand and began moving it downward. I stopped it right above my privates. He looked a bit nervous. "It's ok. Go ahead," I assured him. He took two fingers and plunged them inside my folds. My legs opened wider, and I let out a louder moan. He moved his fingers inside me in a beckoning manner as his other hand continued to grope my breasts. He continued to move around as my inner walls became increasingly wet. I took his hand again. "Try this too," I said as I placed his thumb against my clitoris. He wriggled his fingers more as he pushed my button with his thumb. "Ah! Yes! Keep going!" I cried. He moved his hand faster. I let out more moans. My tails flew everywhere. This was a feeling of pure ecstasy like I had never experienced before. This was the first true romantic encounter I had ever had. He wasn't driven by the lust caused by my charm.

After a bit longer, I grabbed his hands again. "I think you have had enough fun for now. My turn," I said as I pushed him up. In just a few quick moves, I removed his shirt and his pants. I pulled down his underwear to reveal his hard member. I grabbed it with my hand and began gently pulling on it. He let out a small whimper. "Oh wait a second," I said to him. I skipped over to the door and locked it. "Don't need anyone interrupting us," I said. I returned to Eylic and went back to what I was doing. I continued to jerk on his penis until it was as hard as it could get. I pushed him back down onto the bed. I placed my head between his legs and ran my tongue up and down his shaft. I gently ran my fingers across his balls with one of my hands. He moaned some more. I placed his entire shaft into my mouth. I moved up and down it over and over again. He moaned some more and gently placed his hand on the back of my head. I continued to pleasure him with my tongue until he moaned more and his breath became quick. I pulled my head away. "Ah, ah, ah. I'm not done yet," I said as seductively as I could. I lowered my head one more time and licked up the slight bit of precum that flowed forth. I waited for him to settle a bit.

"He he. Ready for what's next?" I asked in my most seductive and sultry tone. He nodded his head. I slowly lowered myself onto him. His hard member slid into my wet folds and enveloped him. The warm feeling inside of me was wonderful. Eylic let out a long moan. I began moving up and down. Eylic grabbed my hips and thrusted upwards as well. I began to let out soft moans. I continued to grind up and down on him when suddenly, Eylic grabbed me and flipped me around. For a brief moment, the nightmare I had had flashed in front of my eyes. I felt a sudden sense of terror. "Are you alright Ahri? Did I startle you?" Eylic asked with concern. I looked up to see his warm eyes looking down into mine. "You just took me by surprise. Please don't stop," I said to him as I wrapped my tails around him. I placed my hands around his back and pulled him close. He was now sliding in and out of me. He started going faster and faster. My moans got louder, and my toes and tails curled. My finger nails turned into claws and scraped against his back. "Oops. Sorry about that," I said. He winced a bit at the pain, but then he looked down at me with a warm smile and placed his lips against mine. He kissed me before resuming his thrusting. From the look on his face, it looked like he was about to reach his limit. I wrapped my legs around him and helped him push deeper into me. My breath quickened as I reached my own climax. The walls of my vagina tightened around him. As they did, I felt a warm feeling release into me. His hot cum filled me up. After I felt him go limp, I released my legs from around him. He got off of me.

He laid down next to me. I turned to face him and wrapped my arms around him. A mixture of his and my fluids were spilling out onto the sheets under us. "Do you think we should tell the captain to burn the sheets?" I asked. Eylic let out a loud laugh. "Maybe Ahri, or you could do it yourself," he replied. I laughed this time. "Eylic… Can I ask you something?" He looked at me and nodded his head. I took a breath before speaking. "Was this your first time… you know, being with a woman?" He looked deep into my eyes before saying, "Yes, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Was it alright for you?" I blushed and rubbed my cheek against his face. "This was the first time I've ever been with someone I didn't intend to kill. It was definitely a different experience, and it was one I wouldn't change either," I said to him. He wrapped his arms around me tighter. My head now rested against his chest. I could feel his heart beating. It still hadn't slowed down to its normal pace yet.

"From the moment I first saw you, I felt a connection unlike anything I've ever felt before. At first, I was afraid of it. I didn't want to be paired with you, but now I'm glad. I love you Eylic," I said as I looked up at him. My eyes were a bit watery. He placed a hand against my face and wiped away one of my tears before patting my head. "I love you too, Ahri," he finally replied. I breathed a sigh of relief and nestled my head against his chest again. The sound of his heart was relaxing and made me tired. "Ahri, are you always this warm?" he asked. "Yes. I'm a bit hot blooded as long as I have mana. It is because of my internal fire that powers my magic. It is also why I don't get cold," I said to him. "Huh," he said with a huff before continuing. "Sleeping with you this close is going to be a pain. I feel like I'm going to melt," he said in a slightly sarcastic tone. I pulled my leg back and kicked him. He let out a slight whimper of pain. I smiled to myself.

I suddenly jumped up and bolted out of the room. I ran down the hall as fast as I could. "Ahoy there miss. You're looking good," I heard a young sailor call from behind me. _Agh. That's right. I'm naked! _I made it to the bathroom just in time and released the little contents that my stomach contained. I washed my mouth out and grabbed a towel that was in the room. I grabbed it and wrapped it around myself. I quickly walked back to the room. The same sailor I ran past before whistled as I walked by. I turned around and slapped him. He retreated away while holding his face. I opened the door and went inside.

I closed the door behind me and dropped the towel from around my body. Eylic whistled at me. I rolled my eyes. "I'll take it you heard that huh?" I questioned. He laughed and nodded. "Have to throw up again?" he asked in a concerned tone. "Yeah. I guess that medicine for seasickness isn't working all the way quite yet," I replied. "Hey, If the sex was that bad, you can be honest with me," Eylic said before sticking out his tongue. I picked up the pillow from the floor that I had thrown earlier and threw it at him again. It hit him in the face again. I skipped over to the bed before he could remove it from his face. As soon as he had it free, I flicked him right between the eyes. He began rubbing the spot. "Ow. Well that wasn't very nice," he complained. I rolled my eyes again. "Oh right! Your back. Let me take a look," I said as I rolled him over. There were several scratch marks, but they looked to be already partly healed. "Don't worry about it, Ahri. I used some of my healing magic while you were out to heal most of the damage. I can take a little pain for you," he said with a smile. His warm blue eyes were looking up at me again. I laid back down next to him, and he wrapped his arms around me again.

"We should get some rest now. That whole ordeal tired me out, and we will be arriving at the island tomorrow. We've got our mission ahead of us, and while I wouldn't change it, our relationship may complicate matters," Eylic said. There was concern in his voice. I knew he was right. While there were no rules forbidding summoners and champions from having relationships, it was generally considered a taboo. It didn't happen often, and it sometimes did end well, but some relationships ended badly. This often resulted in two people not even being able to work on the same team again, the summoner getting expelled from the league, or, in some cases, the death of the champion or summoner. I sighed and my ears drooped a bit at this thought. Eylic patted my head and held me tighter. "I'm not letting you go though," he said. "And I'm not letting you go either," I replied as I squeezed him back. It felt like my stomach was finally settling, and I focused on getting to sleep. It didn't take me long. I really was exhausted as well from our little session of love making. I drifted off to sleep to the sound of his heart. I had a feeling that tomorrow's adventure was going to make for a long day.


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Note: There will be some sexual content at the beginning of this chapter. If you want to skip it, just skip down to the first point of view switch. Lucian will be returning in this chapter, and our heroes will get back to their mission.

Chapter 10 – Landfall 

Eylic

_**HOOOOOOONK! "LAND HOOOO!" **_The large horn sound and the captain's loud call startled me awake. I groaned as I stretched. It felt early. I went over to the small port window in the room and removed the curtain from it. It was still dark outside. I walked back over to the bed and sat down. I grabbed my pants and began putting them on. I looked at Ahri who was still sound asleep. I leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. I went over to the door and opened it a crack and stuck my head out. There was a soldier waiting at the door. "The Shadow Isle is in view. We will be docking and be ready to off load in about 30 minutes. Please be ready at that time," the sailor said. "Thanks. We'll be sure to be ready by then," I replied. He smiled, nodded, and walked off. I closed the door and turned around. Ahri was now sitting up and stretching in bed. "*Yaaaaawn* So we have a half hour then before we can leave?" Ahri asked. I nodded my head. A sly smile came across her face as she rolled over onto her hands and knees. "You know, we could do a lot in a half hour," she said seductively. Her amber eyes stared into mine. I returned her smile with a laugh as I walked back over to the bed.

I removed my pants again before climbing onto the bed behind her. Her tails began wagging again in anticipation. I started by kissing down her back and then tracing my fingers down her spine. She shivered slightly. "In the mood for teasing I see," she commented. I moved my hands up her back and reached under to grab her breasts. She let out a quiet moan as I squeezed them. She raised her rear slightly. I squeezed her breasts harder as I slammed myself into her folds. Her moans increased and she began panting faster and faster. Her tails fluttered around. I moved my hands to her hips and grabbed on as I began thrusting into her harder and deeper. I took one of my hands and lightly slapped her ass. She let out a sudden yip. I stopped and got a bit worried. She turned her head to look at me. "You're getting bold and naughty," she said in a sweet and sexy voice. "Feel free to do it again or even do it harder just please don't stop. I'm so close," she continued.

I began thrusting again. I went faster. The walls of her vagina began to tighten on my shaft again. The feeling sent shivers down my spine. I was close to climaxing now. I slapped her ass one more time, but this time she burst into uncontrollable moans and panting. I grabbed her hips and thrust as hard as I could. She let out a long, loud moan as I came into her. Once I was done, I removed myself from her. I went to go grab something to wipe ourselves down. "Wait," she exclaimed. I stopped moving. She turned around and placed her mouth over my member. She greedily sucked the mixture of our fluids off of me until there was nothing left. She looked up at me with her amber eyes. I placed my hand underneath her chin as I brought my head down to hers. I kissed her soft lips. We stood in place for several minutes with our lips locked before I pulled away. "We should get ready to leave," I finally said. She blushed and nodded before getting up. She put on her robe from last night and headed out the door. I sat there for a moment thinking about everything that had happened over the last while. A smile came across my face. I realized that for the first time, I was truly in love, and it made me very happy. I sat up and also grabbed a robe I had in the room. I went out the door and headed to the male bathroom in the opposite direction from where Ahri went. I had about fifteen minutes to get ready and get off this ship.

Ahri

I skipped towards the female bathroom with a smile on my face. I could still feel the redness in my cheeks. I placed my hand to my lips. I could still feel his against them. I knew it was something that went against the teachings of the league, but I was in love.

I got to the bathroom and removed my robe. I grabbed a towel and stepped into one of the shower stalls. I turned on the water and began washing myself clean. I stood in the shower for much longer than I needed to. I looked back on my weeks together with Eylic. I had been happier than I ever had been in a long time. I also pictured our night together last night. He seemed a bit timid at first, but I couldn't blame him. I was his first. Even though he had never been with a woman before, he still managed to satisfy me. It was the best thing I had ever felt, and I wanted to feel it again and again. I wanted to be with him and only him. _Maybe I'll be his only. _It was a silly thought, but maybe it could come true.

I turned off the water and grabbed my towel. I dried off my body before drying off my hair and tails. I shook them a bit to fluff them out. I put my robe back on and headed back to the room. When I got there, Eylic was finishing getting dressed. He was putting on his shoes. _Perfect, _I thought to myself as I began to smile. I dropped my robe. "Oops," I said as I skipped around the room naked towards my clothing. I bent over and made sure to give Eylic a good view of my ass as I picked up my clothes from the ground. I turned towards him and began slowly getting dressed. He sighed and shook his head. "I get the feeling that you're going to be the death of me," he said to me with a laugh. I put my hand over my mouth and giggled.

We made our way to the top deck as the ship finished docking. We walked towards the ramp off of the ship before Eylic got a weird look of surprise on his face like he had just remembered something important. He turned around and went over to the captain of the ship. He whispered something into the captain's ear. After a moment the captain threw his head backwards and laughed as he slapped Eylic on the back. "That won't be a problem at all my boy! Glad to hear your trip was a, shall we say, pleasant one," the captain said to Eylic. I'm guessing that Eylic had just informed him of our sleeping situation last night. Eylic gave a slight nervous laugh as he shied away from the captain and ran back to me. "So, explaining your conquest last night to the captain?" I teased while jabbing him in the side with my index finger. Eylic's face turned red, and he turned forward. "Aaanyway, we should get on with our mission," he said. "You're no fun," I replied while crossing my arms and pouting. Eylic sighed before turning around and kissing me. Several cheers erupted from the sailors behind us as we hurried on our way.

We walked down the ship ramp and into the unnaturally dark and thick fog that surrounded the island. The sailors offloading supplies to the outpost there did so in a great hurry, and the ones who were stationed there seemed to be glad that they would be going home now. New men were set to be stationed there for the next little while. No one knew why the people of Freljord had this outpost here. They were very secretive about it, but this island was known to contain powerful and dark magic. I held on tightly to Eylic's arm. I didn't like the feeling I got from this place one bit. Eylic took out a map that one of the men on the ship had given him, and we began following the path that had been marked out towards the only village on the island.

"Eylic. How exactly are we supposed to know where to look for this gem on this island?" I inquired. He shrugged his shoulders before saying, "Maybe someone in town will know something, or maybe a clue will just come to us." I sighed. I wasn't as optimistic about the whole thing. We continued on our walk. We were warned not to venture off of the path laid out on the map. This was the only safe route as there were many dangers in the Shadow Isles. This path had special warding totems placed all along it to protect travels. We made our way through the swampy areas and thick trees for several hours before finally arriving at our destination.

We arrived at the small village and began to look around. It was very quiet, and no one was outside. The village looked very old. All of the buildings were made of stone covered in moss, and none of them were more than two stories high. There was a large water well in the center of the town. All of the roads were either dirt or gravel, and there was no sign at all of electricity. "Hello. Is anyone there?" I called out. We could hear shuffling from inside some of the buildings, but no one emerged. "Well what do we have here? You look familiar," I heard from behind us. Eylic and I both turned around.

"Oh. Hi Lucian," Eylic said after we had turned to face the paladin. Lucian waved his hand in a gesture for us to follow him. We walked with him to one of the larger buildings in the village. He knocked on the door, and it opened a crack. "It is alright. These people are friends. They can be trusted," Lucian said to the old grey-haired man on the other side of the door. The man eyed Eylic and I up and down before opening the door all the way. There was a fire on one side of the building, and a bar at the opposite end. There were a few people at either end of the building. They both turned around to look at us for a bit before continuing on with what they were doing. We followed the old man to a desk that sat in the center of the room. The man sat down behind the desk before saying, "Welcome to the Shadow Inn. We really don't get too many visitors here. We have one room available, and it is 50 gold a night. The bar is always open, and we do offer breakfast in the morning." Eylic looked at Lucian who nodded his head. Eylic paid the man 50 gold. Eylic was given a key with a "5" carved into it. We then followed Lucian up the stairs to the second floor. There was a long hallway with several doors on either side. Lucian walked with us until we came to a stop in front of door number 5. "This is your room. I'm right across the hall here at number 6. Get settled in and then we need to talk. I have a feeling I know why you are here," he said before turning away from us and entering his room.

Eylic and I entered into the room. It really wasn't much to look at. There was a single bed and a small table with two chairs. The room was lit by several oil lamps. Everything was covered in dust. There was one other door that opened into a small bathroom. Thankfully, it did have an actual shower and toilet, but they did have to be pumped manually. I plopped my butt down on the bed and began coughing as a cloud of dust shot up into the air around me. Eylic laughed before putting our bags down on the ground. He opened the map again and placed it on the table. He placed his hand to his chin and began scanning the map. "I wonder where it could be," he said to himself. I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. I sat my chin on his shoulder and looked over the map with him. He patted my head and turned to give me a kiss. I felt my face turn a bit red again.

We continued looking over the map until we heard a knock at the door. Eylic opened the door, and Lucian stepped inside. "Greetings. I got word from the institute that you'd be arriving here," Lucian said as he stepped inside. "Hi Lucian. Didn't you have some mission or something you were doing here?" Eylic asked. "Yes, but we will be going the same direction," Lucian replied. Lucian stepped over to the map we had laid out on the table and grabbed a pen from one of the other tables nearby. "A lot of undead have been gathering in this area of the forest recently. The timing coincides with your visit to the dig site back in Valoran. Whatever you found there seems to have activated something here," Lucian said as he marked a spot on the map deep in the woods. "I'm hoping that it has also attracted my target as well… We'll take this path. It will be the safest way to get there," he said as he finished drawing out his path. He turned the map towards Eylic who began looking it over. "Alright. This looks good. We'll leave in a half hour," Eylic said. Lucian nodded and left the room. We began gathering what we would need. I began doing a bit of stretching. I had a feeling there would be some running involved today.

We met Lucian directly outside the inn a half hour later. "Let's go," he said as soon as I finished closing the inn door. We followed him out of the village and onto a new path that led us into the thick and foggy forest. "Watch yourself. Many evil things live in these woods," the paladin said in a cold tone. Eylic formed a crystal machete in his hand, and I summoned my orb into my hand.

It didn't take long for the path to become smaller and more overgrown with trees. It was obvious that not many people ventured out this far. Eylic took the lead and began hacking down the vines and low hanging branches in front of us. We heard shuffling and moving further in the trees. Occasionally, I would see a black silhouette move past. It was clear that we were being watched. We all knew it. I could feel the tenseness in the atmosphere. I felt my inner fire burning inside of me. I readied it so that I could summon it at a moment's notice. Suddenly, something lunged at me.

Lucian

I noticed it out of the corner of my eye. A ghoulish figure lunged forward at Ahri. I pulled up both of my guns and fired. The undead creature shrieked before glowing white and burning away into ash. The fox girl quickly recovered. Several fireballs surrounded her. Eylic started hacking through the vines at a faster pace. He formed a thinner, more nimble sword in his other hand. More undead rushed forward. I took aim and fired. Blast after blast found its mark as the monsters were immolated in holy fire. Others were set on fire by Ahri. She was handling herself quite well. Many creatures fell to her blue flames.

We continued to push forward. The girl and I protected Eylic as he cleared a path for us. The deeper in we got, the more vicious their attacks got. Occasionally he would have to stop cutting away the vines and branches in order to slice apart the undead horrors that closed in on him. _We are definitely getting close. _

Finally, we found ourselves in the middle of a small clearing. We had made it to our mark at last. We also found ourselves surrounded by these rotting, risen corpses. We stood close together and readied our weapons. The enemy circled us. Each creature had a hungry look in its eyes. "I know you're here! Show yourself you undead bastard!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. My confrontation was met with a sinister cackle that sounded like it came from all around us. "Kill them," the voice said.

The enemy rushed forward. Wave after wave charged at us. I fired off my guns at any one that got near me. Eylic was cutting them down one after another with his sword, and Ahri set entire groups ablaze in blue fire. They just kept coming. They trampled over the fallen to get at us. As grim as the situation looked, there was a bit of good news. It looked like their numbers were beginning to thin.

The undead continued their assault, and we continued to defend. Each one that got near us fell to our various attacks until there were only a few left. They then stopped rushing forward. The ground began to shake. A small hill in the clearing exploded. A fraction of a second later, a long scythe with a chain attached to it flew out of the opening. "Look out!" Eylic yelled as he pushed me to the side. The scythe just barely missed us. Menacing cackling came from the opening as the chained weapon slid back inside. "Finally," I said in a low voice.

The glowing green figure of Thresh stepped forward from the entrance. I swallowed hard. Something wasn't right. An eerie purple energy tether followed him from inside the hole. The purple energy flowed around him and mixed with his green fire. "This doesn't look good. Be careful," I instructed my companions. They both nodded their heads and prepared for the next fight. The remaining undead had ran off now. Thresh stepped forward while twirling his weapon. "You're wife has been rather lonely in my lantern. Don't worry. You'll be joining her soon," he taunted. "You evil son of a bitch. You die today!" I cried in fury. I fired off two blasts from my guns. The purple energy around him extended outwards and absorbed them. "Ha ha ha ha ha. It won't be that easy now that I have this new power," he laughed.

_This is very bad. I knew it was going to be hard enough to stop him, but I've never seen this power before. _I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to look at Eylic. "You're not alone in this fight," he said. I nodded in response. "How touching, but you're all going to be added to my collection!" Thresh yelled as he tossed his scythe forward. We jumped out of the way. It made a loud crash as it hit the ground. Green flames sprang up from the ground as he reeled the weapon back. Ahri had charged forward with her orb. She threw it, and it impacted with Thresh. "Agh. You annoying gnat!" he yelled out in pain. She threw her orb forward again, but he caught it. Ahri gasped in shock as he crushed it in his hand. He threw his scythe forward. There was no way she would be able to dodge in time.

Before it could hit her, Eylic had stepped in front of her. He managed to deflect the weapon with his sword. "Don't be so reckless, Ahri," he said to his partner. Ahri recovered from her shock. "Right. I'm sorry," she replied. Thresh pulled back on the chain. Eylic's sword was pulled from his hand. _Oh crap! _Thresh shot a green ball of fire towards Eylic. Eylic tried to dodge it, but the shot caught him in the arm. He quickly encased his arm in crystal which extinguished the fire. Once the crystal receded, it was clear to see that he had suffered a few burns. "Eylic!" Ahri cried out in concern. "I'll be alright. Focus on the battle," he replied. It was very clear that these two cared about each other a lot: more than a champion and summoner should. I had a bond like that once, and this monster took it from me. "I will not rest until you are destroyed!" I yelled at Thresh. He threw his head back and laughed.

Eylic got back on his feet and constructed a new sword to use. I fired off more shots at him. He avoided them. Eylic and Ahri both rushed forward. His blade locked with Thresh's scythe. While Thresh struggled with Eylic, Ahri rushed forward and released a large charge of spirit energy. Eylic jumped back just before it impacted. It hit Thresh and he recoiled backwards. _Now is my chance. _I charged up and fired two more shots. They found their mark and caused him to fall backwards. "You will pay for that," he said as he got to his feet. The purple energy around him increased.

Thresh let out a roar, and a shockwave of purple energy was released. Eylic and Ahri were hit and sent flying backwards. They both impacted the trees circling the clearing. The shockwave dissipated before it reached me. "Eylic. Ahri. Are you two alright?" I called out. There was no response. Thresh cackled again. "I guess it is just us old friends now. No more interference," he said. I could feel my muscles tensing up. I readied my weapons. He began firing more green fire towards me. I dodged and rolled to avoid them. He kept on firing at me. He then shot out more fire before swinging his scythe in a sweeping motion. I couldn't dodge it, and the chain caused me to trip. One of my guns went flying from my hand. I quickly got back to my feet and began firing back at him with my remaining weapon. He either dodged or absorbed most of the shots.

I ran to try and retrieve my other weapon, but as I got to it, I was hit by Thresh's scythe. I fell to the ground and landed on my back. The blade had embedded itself into my shoulder. Thresh walked over to me and kicked my weapons away. He wrapped a hand around my neck and pulled me up. "Time to join your wife, Lucian," he laughed. He pulled his lantern up. The front door opened, and it began to glow brighter. I began to feel sick and weak. I could hardly breathe as I felt my soul leaving my body. I struggled, but his grip was too strong. I suddenly remembered the knife Eylic had given me. He said it worked well on the undead. I reached around and pulled the knife from my belt. I raised it up and brought it down into one of Thresh's empty eye sockets. There was a bright flash as he dropped me and reeled back in pain. I pulled the blade of the scythe from my shoulder. I picked up my closest gun and walked towards Thresh who was still screaming in agony. He threw his scythe forward at me, but his throw was sluggish and easily dodged. He tried to stand back up. I stabbed the knife into his chest. He fell over in pain. "You cannot do this to me!" he roared in frustration. "I am the chain warden. I am immortal. I will rip your soul from your body and destroy you. I will-." I fired off my gun again and again into his head and chest. I kept firing it. The green flames around him extinguished. I let out a sigh. It was finally over. My mission was complete.

I did not have long to relax. The purple glow around thresh began to increase. It grew wild as it flickered around him. His corpse began to spasm and contort. The glow became brighter and brighter. I quickly ran away from him as a large explosion went off behind me. When I turned around, all that was left of the chain warden was a small crater and the broken remains of his lamp. All of the trapped souls began to ascend towards the sky as they had finally been freed. "You can rest now Senna," I said as I watched the column of spirits ascend. "Thank you Lucian," I heard. A smile came across my face.

I ran over to go check on Eylic and Ahri. They were both still breathing. Ahri had no serious injuries. Eylic's right arm was still burned from Thresh's attack. "Wake up," I said as I gently shook him. He slowly came to and sat up. "Ow," he said. He looked at his right arm and put his left hand over it. There was a small flash of green light. When he removed his hand, the wound looked to be partially healed. He went over to Ahri and shook her awake. "Are you alright?" He asked her. She nodded her head. "Sorry for not being more careful," she said. "Hey. I got knocked out too. I think you did well," Eylic replied with a smile. The two embraced each other for a few seconds before getting to their feet. I smiled a bit to myself. "So, shall we go see what is down that hole?" I asked. Eylic's face turned serious as he looked at me and nodded. He took the lead as we walked towards the entrance in the side of the hill.


	11. Chapter 11

Author's Note: Sorry this took so long. Life kinda caught up to me. I started a new job and had a rough semester at school. I missed writing though and wanted to get another chapter out. I'll try to get chapters out a bit more frequently again. I'm still working, but my schooling is easer this semester. I have been really happy to still see people liking and following this story and wanted you all to know that I have not abandoned it. Enjoy the next installment.

Chapter 11 – The First Piece 

Ahri

We made our way into the hole. There were stairs leading down. "This isn't just some hole in the ground. This was constructed by someone," I said. Eylic nodded. The worried look he had made me think we were thinking the same thing. The construction of these stairs and the writings on the walls meant that they were made by the same people who made the weapon. We had found our first piece. "So this gem thing you are looking for, judging from the look of him before, I'd say that Thresh was feeding off of its energy," Lucian said as we continued walking. Eylic nodded his head again.

After a few more steps, the stairs ended and we found ourselves inside of a circular room. There was a small, stone pillar in the center of the room, and a purple gem sat on top of it. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked worriedly. "This is our mission. We have to find these gems and return them to the council to make sure that no one can ever use the weapon. Even these gems alone are powerful weapons," Eylic replied. I hated to admit it, but he was right. Thresh managed to increase his power, and there were four more of these things out there. We continued to walk closer. The air began to feel electrically charged. The gem glowed brighter as we neared it. Eylic continued to get closer to it. "Be care-"…

Eylic

I heard Ahri start to say something before being cut off. I turned around to see what the matter was. To my surprise, she was completely frozen in place. She looked like she should be walking, and her mouth was still open from the phrase she was trying to utter, but she was perfectly still. I looked over to Lucian who was in the same state. "What is going on?" I asked aloud. Of course I got no response. I tried every spell I could think of that might help, but none of them worked. I gave up and walked closer to the gem. It almost felt like it was calling to me.

As I approached it, the gem began to hover just above its resting place. I hesitated for a bit before I reached out to touch it. I suddenly felt like I was on fire and was burning from the inside out. I cried out in pain as I fell over. Everything went black.

"He's coming around. Eylic. Eylic, answer me!" I heard Ahri's worried voice as my vision came into focus. We were outside in the clearing again. "Ugh. I'm fine," I said as I got to my feet. "What happened?" I asked. "I don't know. One moment you were right in front of me, and the next, you are several feet ahead and collapsed on the ground," Ahri replied worriedly. "It was all so strange," I continued. "One moment you were in the middle of telling me something, and then you and Lucian were both frozen. I decided that the only thing I could do was try to pick up the stone. When I touched it, it felt like I was on fire, and then I woke up here." The pained look Ahri had on her face made it clear that she was worried for me. "Well one down and four to go," I said lightheartedly as I turned back towards the village and started to walk. Ahri sighed and grabbed my arm as she began to walk next to me. I don't think we will have too much trouble getting back. Look," Lucian commanded as he pointed upwards.

He was right. The fog was thinning, and the sun could be seen in the sky. The whole air began to feel less heavy, and I didn't have a constant feeling of danger in the pit of my stomach. "Strange. Very strange," Lucian muttered under his breath. We continued our walk back to town without incident.

By the time we got back, the sun was fully shining in the sky. Several of the residents were outside staring up in confusion. _I bet some of these people have never seen a day without fog, _I thought to myself as we approached the inn. _I bet it has something to do with me taking this._ I clutched the gem stone that was now in my pocket. I swear I could feel it slowly pulsing like it was alive. I sat down at the bar in the in. "Give me your strongest drink," I said to the man on the other side. He nodded and poured me a glass of some black tar-looking beverage into an old rusty mug. Ahri pranced over and sat down next to me. "Little early to be drinking isn't it?" She teased as she waved for the bartender to come back over. "Oh you can lay off me after the day we've had," I replied. "Hehe, ok then," she giggled. "But no promises I won't take advantage of your cute drunk ass later," she added in a seductive tone as she squeezed my leg. I nearly choked on my drink. She began laughing before ordering her own drink.

I don't quite remember what happened, but I woke up in our room later with a screaming headache. It was dark outside now. I tried to stand up, but I fell back down. "Ouch," I shouted as I landed on my arm. I looked down to see a new cut on my arm. _Wonder how that got there, _I thought to myself as I did a quick healing spell. The cut shrank and vanished. "Oh you're up now." I heard Ahri's familiar voice as she wrapped her arms around me. I could tell from the heat coming off of her and the feel of her skin that she was naked again. "Just can't keep your clothes on can you?" I questioned sarcastically. "Oh shut up. You know you love it," she teased as she bit my ear. I let out a sigh as I turned my neck and kissed her cheek. "Oh. Any idea how I got that cut on my arm?" She laughed. "Oh something about being able to juggle and forming several crystal knives. Long story short, you can't juggle," she replied. "Oh." I felt my face turn red. My head was still killing me. I fell backwards onto the bed. I put my hands under my head and stared up at the ceiling. "Whatcha thinking about?" Ahri asked as she laid down next to me. "Absolutely nothing. My head hurts too badly," I replied. "Aw. Poor boy. Let me kiss it," she teased as she rolled over and kissed my forehead. She made sure her breasts were in full view. "I'll let you get some rest tonight though," she said as she rolled back over. "Tease," I said as I jabbed my finger into her side.

"How cute. I hate to break up such a romantic moment, but I have a job to do," an unfamiliar voice said from the other side of the room. "Who is there? Show yourself!" I demanded. A figure stepped out of the shadows. It was a figure I recognized. "Evelynn," I muttered as I jumped to my feet. I pushed back the dizziness I felt. _If I get out of this alive, I'm never drinking again,_ I thought to myself. Of course I knew it was a lie. Ahri leapt up as well still naked. Any other time I would have admired the sight, but I had to focus for now. "Honestly do you have no shame?" Evelynn jabbed. I heard a low growl escape from Ahri. The room was now lit with blue flames that danced around her. I constructed a crystal sword in my hand. I felt the gem in my pocket pulse harder. Maybe it was just my head from the booze still. A line of shadowy spikes erupted from the floor. Ahri and I both jumped out of the way as the bed was destroyed.

I ran forward and tackled her out of the window. She disappeared before we hit the ground. I encased myself in crystal before I hit the ground to lessen the impact. I got back up to my feet and swung my sword around. She had appeared behind me, and she bent backwards to avoid my strike. As she lifted herself back up, more shadow spikes appeared in front of her. I jumped out of the way to avoid them. She leapt forward and slashed at me. Her strike caught me in the arm. It stung horribly. Her eyes began to glow red as my blood made contact with her skin. She reached up to strike again, but suddenly jumped back. A blue fire ball struck where she was standing. Ahri was standing in the now broken window. She hurled several more fire balls in Evelynn's direction. "You're going to have to do better than that," the assassin taunted. Ahri conjured her orb in her hand and launched it forwards. Evelynn stepped to the side and dodged the attack. "You missed," she said with a smirk. "Did I?" Ahri replied coyly. She motioned her hand and her orb came soaring back. It hit the Widowmaker square in the back. She let out a slight cry of pain as she stumbled forward. I charged at her. It was my turn to draw blood. She sent out another wave of shadows, but she was still working on regaining her balance. I easily side stepped it before stabbing her in the gut. "Gotcha," I said as I twisted the sword. She cried out in agony before kicking me back. She pulled out the sword and threw it to the ground. I could tell by her look that she was enraged.

She took a step back into the shadows and vanished again. I created another sword in my hand and began looking around. There was a sudden warm feeling inside of me. My vision gained a blue tint. _What is going on_! I frantically thought to myself as I tried to figure out what was going on. Something in the corner of my eye caught my attention. It was Evelynn. She was still invisible, but I could still see a blue outline of her. I charged at her again and struck out with my new sword. I caught her in the shoulder this time. I could clearly see the look of shock on her face as she reappeared. As she looked up at me, her look of shock turned to a look of horror. She jumped back and put up a hasty wall of spikes as she retreated. "Fuck this. I didn't get paid enough to deal with this. Enjoy your win and your new gem while you can," she shouted. Another fire ball flew towards her from the upstairs window. She avoided it and ran into the forest and vanished. My vision went back to normal and the heat that I felt left my body. I looked up to see a very pissed off Ahri looking in the direction of the forest. I took a moment to admire her figure. _Well she's hot when she's angry._

My headache came back. I went back into the inn. The bartender glanced up at me and glared. I tossed him a few coins. "Sorry about the commotion," I said as I headed up the stairs. "Are you alright?" Ahri asked worriedly as I entered the room. "I'm fine," I said while giving her a smile. I went over to the bed and cast a quick reassembly spell. I watched the bed frame piece itself back together. I went over to the window and did the same. Before I could go back to the newly fixed bed, I heard a knock at the door. I sighed and went over to answer it. Lucian was standing at the door. "I heard some noise. Is everything fine?" He asked. "Everything is perfectly fine. Someone sent Evelynn after us," Ahri replied. "Oh no. Sorry to hear. I would have helped, but I'm a bit of a heavy sleeper," Lucian said nervously. Ahri sighed and rolled her eyes. I was just glad she had put on a robe before he got here. "I'm pretty sure they were after the gem. She mentioned something about someone paying her to retrieve it," I explained to him. "Thresh mentioned something about working with someone as well," Lucian replied. "That assassin at the weapon site too," Ahri chimed in. _Someone clearly has it out for us, _I thought. "There is nothing we can do now. Get some rest Ahri. We're heading out to Piltover tomorrow," I yawned as I headed back to the bed. "I would like to come with you too. Nothing about this sits right with me," Lucian said. I looked at Ahri, and we both looked back and nodded our heads. "We leave in the morning," I said after a moment. He nodded back and left the room. The room was dark and finally quiet again. I got under the covers and drifted off to sleep. I felt Ahri wrap herself around me once again. She was of course naked. "Tease," I muttered under her breath. One of her tails reached up and slapped me in the face. She giggled before rubbing herself closer to me. We both went to sleep.

Ahri

"I hate boats," I said aloud as we set sail towards Piltover. I made sure to take some medicine before I got on board, but it would still take a few days to fully work. "This sucks." Eylic came up behind me and gave me a hug. "Aw don't look so glum beautiful," he said as he squeezed my waist. "Agh. Don't squeeze me so hard," I cried as I felt my stomach lurch. "It's *hurk* ok," I said before turning and throwing up over the side of the boat. _Why are there no portals in the Shadow Isles? _I thought to myself as I recovered. "I'm going to go lie down." Eylic smiled and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. "Feel better. I'll come check on you later," he said. I kissed him back. "Awe gross," he teased. I punched him in the side. "Ouch. I'm gonna get a broken rib from all this soon enough," he complained. I rolled my eyes as I headed below deck. "When I feel better, no sex for you," I shouted behind me. I could almost feel his disappointment.

It was nice and cool below deck which helped me to feel better. We had only been at sea a few hours, and it would take us a few more days to reach our destination. Even though I would have to wait it out on this boat, I was glad that we were a few days off. Something about those gems scared me. If one managed to empower Thresh, freeze time, and call to Eylic, I don't even want to know what all five could do. I also didn't like how he said he felt like he was on fire when he touched it. Since we got it, he also hasn't let it be too far out of his reach, and his fighting last night was much more aggressive. I could have sworn the Evelynn was invisible. How did he see her? I'll be glad when we are done with this mission and things go back to normal. I was glad Lucian decided to come along. He might be able to keep things under control, and I trust him more than I trust Malzahar.

The boat we were on this time was much bigger. There were fewer rooms, but each room had a bathroom this time. I went into it and rinsed out my mouth before going back into the main room and collapsing onto the bed. I stared up at the ceiling for what seemed like forever. A little bit of sun light streamed in from the bottom of the curtain covering the porthole window. I put my finger up in the air and began to trace the wood grains in the ceiling. I thought about my life and how everything lead up to here. I thought about being a fox. I thought about Eylic finding me and naming me. I thought about when I became human. I thought about all of the people I used up and killed. I thought about when I joined the League, and I thought about my first meeting with Eylic. Who would have known that we'd end up together, and that I'd be his first. In a way he was my first too. The first person I ever truly loved, and the first person I'd want to spend every moment with. A huge smile came across my face and my eyes became a bit watery. _I'm not crying. It is just from the nausea_, I lied to myself. I began picturing what would happen if we left the League and this whole secret mission behind. We could run off together back to Ionia and be happy. We could have all kinds of fun. We could laugh, go on walks, stay in all day wrapped in each other's arms. We could even start a fam… I quickly sprang out of bed and ran to the bathroom to throw up again. _Only a few more days of this hell on water,_ I told myself.


End file.
